as in revolutions
a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order)
the government can no longer control the social upheaval brought about by the collapse of the country's economy
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Recent Examples of upheavals
Details in geomyths can shed light on how and when great geological upheavals occurred around the globe, and how humans responded to them.
—
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
The Industry Has Handled Huge Shifts Before When discussion turned to AI, Pearn recalled earlier upheavals.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
The Sandinista Revolution and the revolutionary upheavals of the 1980s more broadly held symbolic global importance because of the Cold War.
—Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 8 Oct. 2025
The film follows Mark and Dawn through horrifically fraught times, as Mark battles an opioid addiction and Dawn struggles to support her mercurial man through personal and professional upheavals.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
While Sehgal’s persistence was key in keeping the project alive through corporate upheavals – going as far as to stash a culture at home – neither Nogrady nor the METEI was ever credited in his landmark publications.
—Ted Powers, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Advertisement The past few years have brought dramatic upheavals, from Gaza to Sudan.
—Richard Branson, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
But in, say, the French Revolution, things got going in part because of the popular unrest and the popular upheavals, but also because there was an inner circle of members of the French nobility who were totally pissed at Louis XVI.
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2025
Modern conservatism developed its own history and internal logic, emerging not merely in opposition but alongside liberalism as a powerful response to the social and economic upheavals of the early 20th century.
—Allan J. Lichtman, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
The Industry Has Handled Huge Shifts Before When discussion turned to AI, Pearn recalled earlier upheavals.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
The Sandinista Revolution and the revolutionary upheavals of the 1980s more broadly held symbolic global importance because of the Cold War.
—Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 8 Oct. 2025
The film follows Mark and Dawn through horrifically fraught times, as Mark battles an opioid addiction and Dawn struggles to support her mercurial man through personal and professional upheavals.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
While Sehgal’s persistence was key in keeping the project alive through corporate upheavals – going as far as to stash a culture at home – neither Nogrady nor the METEI was ever credited in his landmark publications.
—Ted Powers, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Advertisement The past few years have brought dramatic upheavals, from Gaza to Sudan.
—Richard Branson, Time, 23 Sep. 2025
But in, say, the French Revolution, things got going in part because of the popular unrest and the popular upheavals, but also because there was an inner circle of members of the French nobility who were totally pissed at Louis XVI.
—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2025
Modern conservatism developed its own history and internal logic, emerging not merely in opposition but alongside liberalism as a powerful response to the social and economic upheavals of the early 20th century.
—Allan J. Lichtman, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upheavals
Noun
-
Nowhere have these coups and revolutions promoted and funded by NED (and the CIA itself) been even remotely successful.—
Ron Paul,
Oc Register,
14 Oct. 2025
-
These novels were published before the revolutions of 1989, which would topple communism in the country.—
Walt Hunter,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The Øresund Bridge is designed to withstand ship collisions, aircraft impacts, earthquakes, and high winds.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Onondagas support plans announced by the mayor of Syracuse in 2020 to remove the statue of Columbus, an Italian explorer who helped the Spanish establish a colonial foothold in the Caribbean and later suppressed revolts by Indigenous people.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
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Peasant revolts have been a thing right alongside revolutionary history the entire time.—
Nikki McCann Ramirez,
Rolling Stone,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The president can also legally invoke the military under the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to be deployed in order to curb insurrections.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The East African country has been mired in civil strife ever since the central government collapsed in 1991 following a series of uprisings against the then-military dictatorship.—
Omar S Mahmood,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
-
While at the Lumiere Festival in Lyon where he’s being honored with a career tribute, Michael Mann reflected on his time in Paris documenting the student uprisings of 1968 for NBC.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To better understand how these storms can wreak so much havoc, our research team created simulations to show how storms interact with Earth’s natural magnetic shield and trigger the dangerous geomagnetic activity that can shut down electric grids.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The storms brought by atmospheric rivers are known for their heavy snow, heavy rain and strong winds.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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About two couples, connected and dependent on one another, raising their kids alongside each other, facing the same turmoils, the same existential questions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, loss of balance and convulsions.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
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Symptoms can be severe and include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, sometimes following gastrointestinal symptoms.—
News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Upheavals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upheavals. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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