tempestuous
adjective
tem·pes·tu·ous
tem-ˈpes-chə-wəs 
-ˈpesh-
tempestuously
adverb
tempestuousness
noun
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Time is sometimes marked in seasons, and seasons are associated with the weather. This explains how tempestās—a Latin word for "time," "season," and "weather"—gave rise to tempestuous, an English adjective for things turbulent and stormy.
Synonyms
Examples of tempestuous in a Sentence
order was restored to the court after the judge put a stop to the defendant's tempestuous outburst
in terms of social change, the 1960s are generally considered the most tempestuous decade in recent American history
Recent Examples on the Web
Some have speculated Trump might use his second term as president to help mend the deep divisions he’s created over the last tempestuous decade.
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Mark Z. Barabak, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
But unlike Joffrey, whose tempestuous tyranny was purely for his own amusement, Aegon makes decisions this season that at least start out from a place of understandable hurt, and Glynn-Carney walks a thin line between capturing the character’s agony and being absurdly funny.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 June 2024
Each one was found after washing up on shore, broken off an actual ship destroyed by storms and the tempestuous sea.
—Lois Alter Mark, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
Her thorny resilience is a rare thing in popular music, and her stories, tempestuous and explicit, have a mythic weight.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tempestuous 
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Mark Z. Barabak, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
But unlike Joffrey, whose tempestuous tyranny was purely for his own amusement, Aegon makes decisions this season that at least start out from a place of understandable hurt, and Glynn-Carney walks a thin line between capturing the character’s agony and being absurdly funny.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 June 2024
Each one was found after washing up on shore, broken off an actual ship destroyed by storms and the tempestuous sea.
—Lois Alter Mark, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
Her thorny resilience is a rare thing in popular music, and her stories, tempestuous and explicit, have a mythic weight.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tempestuous
Dictionary Entries Near tempestuous
Cite this Entry
“Tempestuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tempestuous. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tempestuous
adjective
tem·pes·tu·ous
tem-ˈpes-chə-wəs
-ˈpesh-
: violent sense 1, stormy
a tempestuous sea
a tempestuous relationship
tempestuously
adverb
tempestuousness
noun
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