Thesaurus results for TEMPEST

tempest

noun

ˈtem-pəst

as in storm

a disturbance of the atmosphere accompanied by wind and often by precipitation (as rain or snow) the sudden summertime tempest drove us off the golf course and into the clubhouse

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in upheaval

a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order) the town council handled the tempest over cuts to the school budget as well as could be expected

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tempest This gripping page-turner — featuring a decades-old murder, a writer in town to tell the real story and an oncoming tempest — feels like it was ripped from the juiciest headlines. —

Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026 While the idea of a one-time tax on more than 200 people has a long way to go before getting onto the ballot and would need to be passed by voters in November, the tempest around it captures the zeitgeist of angst and anger at the core of California. —

Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026 This wild tempest of a tale set in Depression-era Nebraska follows a prairie witch and a high school girl swept up into a tumultuous western epic about the tragedies and ambitions of Manifest Destiny. —

Ron Charles, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025 Yet What Lane Will (Actually) Do is almost secondary to the tempest he’s created to get here. —

Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tempest

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tempest

Noun

When Stagg’s calculations lead him to conclude that an almighty storm is set to break on June 5, 1944 — the day originally earmarked for the Normandy landings — after a long period of balmy calm, potentially scuppering the entire vast project, his simple but urgent advice is to wait a day.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 May 2026
This is accepted standard practice in the region, but the baterias often overflow during storms, sending water rich in heavy metals into the streams that feed the Caqueta river.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026