Turbulent

//ˈtɜːbjələnt// adj

adj ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Violently disturbed or agitated; tempestuous, tumultuous.

    "It is dangerous to sail in turbulent seas."

  2. 2
    Being in, or causing, disturbance or unrest.

    "The mid-19th century was a turbulent time in American history."

Adjective
  1. 1
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence wordnet
  2. 2
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
agitatedamissanarchicangryaskewawry

Example

More examples

"The turbulent sands above our heads, the flinging of our swords... they're naught but falling stars in the night sky."

Etymology

From Middle English turbulent, from Middle French turbulent, from Latin turbulentus, from turba (“disorder, tumult, crowd”).

Related phrases

turbulent flow

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