Turbulence
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The state or fact of being turbulent or agitated; tempestuousness, disturbance. uncountable
"Turbulence was everywhere, within every blade of grass, every drop of dew on a leaf, every cloud in the sky, and every star beyond. The turbulence was purposeless, but in huge quantities of purposeless turbulence, purpose took shape."
- 2 unstable flow of a liquid or gas wordnet
- 3 Disturbance in a gas or fluid, characterized by evidence of internal motion or unrest. uncountable
- 4 a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally) wordnet
- 5 Specifically, a state of agitation or disturbance in the air which is disruptive to an aircraft. uncountable
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- 6 instability in the atmosphere wordnet
- 7 An instance or type of such state or disturbance. countable
"In a brief and abashed Tory conference speech, Kwarteng admitted it had been a “tough day” – hours after rowing back on the tax cut for high earners. He said his economic plan had caused “a little turbulence”."
Example
More examples"As the plane was approaching turbulence, the pilot asked the passengers aboard the plane to fasten their seat belts."
Etymology
From Middle English turbulence (“turbidity, cloudiness”), from Late Latin turbulentia (“trouble, disquiet”). By surface analysis, turbulent + -ence.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.