1
as in flurry
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity
there was an immediate outbreak of paper shuffling and a pretense of work when the supervisor passed through the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in revolt
open fighting against authority (as one's own government)
the government quelled the outbreak with ruthless efficiency
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of outbreak
But now, one of the worst outbreaks since then is centered in West Texas, with cases reaching into New Mexico and now Oklahoma.
—
Annika Kim Constantino,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2025
Video American Red Cross provides relief after tornado outbreak
The Talladega County Coroner identified the one person who died in the tornado that hit Winterboro as 83-year-old Harry Leon Fain, who authorities said lived in a mobile home across the street from Winterboro High School.
—Ginger Zee, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2025
More than 70 homes were destroyed by wildfire outbreaks Friday in and around Stillwater, home to Oklahoma State University.
—TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
Gaines County is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 137 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outbreak
Annika Kim Constantino,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2025
Video American Red Cross provides relief after tornado outbreak
The Talladega County Coroner identified the one person who died in the tornado that hit Winterboro as 83-year-old Harry Leon Fain, who authorities said lived in a mobile home across the street from Winterboro High School.
—Ginger Zee, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2025
More than 70 homes were destroyed by wildfire outbreaks Friday in and around Stillwater, home to Oklahoma State University.
—TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
Gaines County is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 137 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outbreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreak
Noun
-
Investors are also expecting a flurry of economic data this week.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
24 Mar. 2025
-
Most solar cycles have two peaks, so astronomers expect a flurry of sunspots in the sun's northern hemisphere.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
This change sparked revolt and, eventually, revolution.—
Carla Gardina Pestana,
The Conversation,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Carney assumed his role as Liberal leader and prime minister after his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, announced his resignation in January amid a polling slump for the Liberal Party and an internal revolt in his cabinet.—
Max Saltman,
CNN,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Instead of using stress as a momentary burst of energy to handle a challenge, your nervous system stays trapped in a hypervigilant state, constantly preparing for the next emotional shift.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
-
The second half opened with another Cathedral scoring burst, extending the lead in the first minute-and-a-half of the third to 18 following a three by Allen-Paisley.—
Justin Barrasso,
Boston Herald,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
More recently, in March 2024, his court issued a unanimous decision blocking state-level efforts to bar Trump from the ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause—a ruling that secured Trump’s path to renomination.—
Nik Popli,
TIME,
19 Mar. 2025
-
The Department of Justice expunged the January 6th insurrection from its website, and whitehouse.gov took down an explainer page about the Constitution.—
Julian Lucas,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The formula seeps deep into pores all over your body to wipe out acne-causing bacteria, stopping active outbursts in their tracks, and keeping future ones at bay.—
Annie Blackman,
Allure,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Powell hit a home run down the left field line in her first at-bat of the season, capping a three-run first-inning outburst by the Warriors in an eventual 9-6 nonconference victory.—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Karla Jay remembers joining the second night of street protests during the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City.—
Orion Rummler,
Them,
17 Mar. 2025
-
Egypt’s military governments have long been deeply distrustful of Islamist movements, notably the homegrown Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and Sisi himself came to power in a military coup against a Muslim Brotherhood president who was elected after the uprising of 2011.—
Lisa Anderson,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
This isn’t a flippant analogy; during the Indian mutiny of 1857, British soldiers looted the Taj Mahal, removing rare gems and lapis lazuli.—
Ralph Leonard,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2025
-
Death in a hail of bullets has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America’s Old West, and as a tool of terror and political repression in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.—
Jeffrey Collins,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
As Frederick Douglass noted in a June 1854 newspaper editorial, however, many Americans praised Henry’s phrase and the violent rebellion against British oppression while simultaneously decrying violent resistance to slavery.—
Cassandra Good,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Wouldn't that seed resentment and the beginnings of the exact rebellion that takes place?—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Outbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreak. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share