Tumultuous

//tjʊˈmʌl.tjʊ.əs// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Characterized by loud, confused noise.

    "Rage with Iambicks, arm'd Archilocus / Numbers for Dialogue and Action fit, / And Favourites of the Dramatick Muſe. / Fierce, Lofty, Rapid, whoſe commanding Sound / Awes the tumultuous Noiſes of the Pit, / And whoſe peculiar Province is the Stage."

  2. 2
    Causing or characterized by tumult; chaotic, disorderly, turbulent.

    "Yet not rejoycing in his [Satan's] ſpeed, though bold, / Far off and fearleſs, nor with cauſe to boaſt, / Begins his dire attempt, with nigh the birth / Now rowling, boiles in his tumultuous breſt, / And like a devilliſh Engine back recoiles, / Upon himſelf; […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
agitatedanarchicangryblaringblaringblasting

Example

More examples

"The noise in this room was perfectly tumultuous, for there were more children there, than Scrooge in his agitated state of mind could count."

Etymology

From Old French tumultuous (modern French tumultueux), from Latin tumultuōsus (“restless, turbulent”), from tumultus (“disturbance, uproar, violent commotion, tumult; agitation, disturbance, excitement”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.