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.
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Recent Examples of tsunamis
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
Japan’s Japan Meteorological Agency says there is no tsunami risk, but warns that earthquakes up to upper-5 intensity could continue for about a week, with the highest risk in the next two to three days.
—Anthony Trotter, ABC News, 6 Jan. 2026
But when a tsunami rocks their island, profound tragedy ensues, and immediately ups the stakes of a brief encounter.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
But pop-punk and emo’s meteoric rise wouldn’t be complete without bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Gym Class Heroes, and Cartel, who each helped build the genre’s wave into a tsunami in the early-aughts.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
With all that data, the Rubin Observatory may deliver a tsunami of unprecedented astronomical discoveries.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2025
That reversibility could reduce transport costs while enabling fast setup in emergencies, such as deploying a temporary field hospital after a tsunami.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Dec. 2025
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
Paul Bierman, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Japan’s Japan Meteorological Agency says there is no tsunami risk, but warns that earthquakes up to upper-5 intensity could continue for about a week, with the highest risk in the next two to three days.
—Anthony Trotter, ABC News, 6 Jan. 2026
But when a tsunami rocks their island, profound tragedy ensues, and immediately ups the stakes of a brief encounter.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
But pop-punk and emo’s meteoric rise wouldn’t be complete without bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Gym Class Heroes, and Cartel, who each helped build the genre’s wave into a tsunami in the early-aughts.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
With all that data, the Rubin Observatory may deliver a tsunami of unprecedented astronomical discoveries.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2025
That reversibility could reduce transport costs while enabling fast setup in emergencies, such as deploying a temporary field hospital after a tsunami.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Dec. 2025
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tsunamis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tsunamis. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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