tumult

1 a state of noisy, confused activity in the tumult of the evacuation from the coast, we accidentally left on the television, which was of course tuned to the local newscast breathlessly reporting on the hurricane we were fleeing Synonyms ado, alarums and excursions, ballyhoo, blather, bluster, bobbery, bother, bustle, clatter, clutter [chiefly dialect], coil, corroboree [Australian], disturbance, do [chiefly dialect], foofaraw, fun, furor, furore, fuss, helter-skelter, hoo-ha (also hoo-hah), hoopla, hubble-bubble, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly, hurly-burly, hurricane, hurry, hurry-scurry (or hurry-skurry), kerfuffle [chiefly British], moil, pandemonium, pother, row, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, shindy, splore [Scottish], squall, stew, stir, storm, to-do, commotion, turmoil, uproar, welter, whirl, williwaw, zooRelated Words cacophony, clamor, din, howl, hue and cry, noise, outcry, racket, roar; disorder, unrest, upheaval; eruption, flare-up, flurry, flutter, outbreak, outburst; brawl, fracas, fray, hassle, melee (also mêlée), scuffle; dither, fever, fret, lather, tizzyNear Antonyms calm, hush, peace, quiet, quietude, rest, stillness, tranquillity (or tranquility); order, orderliness

2 a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order) the political tumult that swept the American colonies in the late 1700s Synonyms bouleversement, cataclysm, earthquake, paroxysm, storm, tempest, convulsion, upheaval, uproarRelated Words insurgency, insurrection, mutiny, overthrow, overturn, rebellion, revolt, revolution, subversion, unrest, uprising, upset; fit, seizure, spasm; eruption, flare-up, outbreak, outburst; bluster, bobbery, bustle, coil, commotion, furor, furore, fuss, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, pandemonium, rout, row, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, shindy, squall, stew, stir, to-do, turmoil, welter, williwaw; quaking, rocking, shaking, trembling

3 a violent shouting went to the window to see what the great tumult was and discovered a crowd of demonstrators marching down the street Synonyms howl, hubbub, hue and cry, hullabaloo, noise, outcry, roar, clamor, uproar, vociferationRelated Words clangor, din, jangle, racket; cri de coeur, outburst, protestNear Antonyms mumble, mumbling, murmur, murmuring, rumble, rumbling