Word of the Day

: August 16, 2025

tempestuous

adjective tem-PESS-chuh-wus

What It Means

Tempestuous is used to describe something that is related to or resembles a violent storm. In its literal (and often literary) use tempestuous is synonymous with turbulent and stormy. Figuratively, tempestuous describes something or someone full of strong emotions, such as anger or excitement.

// On its return to port the unlucky schooner was beset by tempestuous weather and nearly capsized.

// Though sometimes a tempestuous relationship, their long marriage was a happy one.

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tempestuous in Context

“Throw in some delightfully varied and tactile textures, ranging from splintering wooden masts to goopy blobfish snot, and the film’s [Moana 2] got plenty of enjoyable atmosphere, whether it’s facing down a motley vessel manned by weird little nut-pirates or the tempestuous waves of the stormy climax.” — Jacob Oller, AV Club, 26 Nov. 2024

Did You Know?

A deluge of words in English do double duty in describing both the weather and the various emotions, relationships, and travails of humankind. You might be glad to know (or be) someone with a sunny disposition, for example, or find yourself bored to tears by a windy speech. Since its 15th century English debut, tempestuous has also blown in two directions, used in the context of literal storms (as in “tempestuous seas”) and for personalities, arguments, etc., that are figuratively “stormy,” being characterized by strong emotions. Like its older sibling in English, the noun tempest (“a violent storm,” “uproar”), tempestuous hails via Anglo-French from the Latin word tempestās, which has multiple meanings including “stretch of time,” “season,” and “stormy weather.”