variants
also tsunami
as in seas
a very high, large wave in the ocean that is usually caused by an earthquake under the sea and that can cause great destruction when it reaches land
The coastline will suffer devastating damage if a tsunami ever hits it.
Related Words
Relevance
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 tsunamis
Developers have multiple projects in the pipeline in Hood County, including a 2,600-acre data center complex called Comanche Circle that has triggered a tsunami of opposition from ranchers, landowners and conservationists near Glen Rose.
—
Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Feb. 2026
Its closure followed the 2011 Fukushima disaster when a 49-foot-long (15-metre) tsunami disabled critical power and cooling systems.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
If the news of a $43 million shortfall was a tsunami, then Thursday’s news is a bomb.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
After the tsunami, global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts partnered to reimagine Kona Village.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
But this change feels like a way to help stop the coming tsunami of litigation over eligibility.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Walking in the wilds of northern Japan The northernmost quarter of Japan’s main island, Tohoku was the region worst hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 18 Jan. 2026
Shin Godzilla is a direct reflection of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and ensuing Fukushima nuclear disaster, events that still loom far larger in the Japanese consciousness than a Western viewer might assume.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
In 2023, another rockslide triggered a tsunami that sloshed back and forth for nine days in a Greenland fjord.
—Paul Bierman, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Feb. 2026
Its closure followed the 2011 Fukushima disaster when a 49-foot-long (15-metre) tsunami disabled critical power and cooling systems.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
If the news of a $43 million shortfall was a tsunami, then Thursday’s news is a bomb.
—Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
After the tsunami, global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts partnered to reimagine Kona Village.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
But this change feels like a way to help stop the coming tsunami of litigation over eligibility.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Walking in the wilds of northern Japan The northernmost quarter of Japan’s main island, Tohoku was the region worst hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 18 Jan. 2026
Shin Godzilla is a direct reflection of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and ensuing Fukushima nuclear disaster, events that still loom far larger in the Japanese consciousness than a Western viewer might assume.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
In 2023, another rockslide triggered a tsunami that sloshed back and forth for nine days in a Greenland fjord.
—Paul Bierman, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tsunamis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tsunamis. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
