tempestuous

adjective

tem·​pes·​tu·​ous tem-ˈpes-chə-wəs How to pronounce tempestuous (audio)
-ˈpesh-
: of, relating to, or resembling a tempest : turbulent, stormy
tempestuous weather
a tempestuous relationship
tempestuously adverb
tempestuousness noun

Did you know?

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.

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 After finally being dumped by the tempestuous Sukie, Jamie decides to lug Marian on a road trip to Tallahassee, intending to hit up all of the best gay bars on the way down. David Sims, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2024 Temperatures are relatively mild and the normally tempestuous Drake Passage is calmer. Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024 Its fluctuations affect, of course, the atmosphere more broadly but also communications on Earth because radio signals often rely on this tempestuous region. Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024 As officials prepared to deploy the machines during the tempestuous 2020 cycle, the Curling plaintiffs argued in court that the new system was no more secure or reliable than the old. Amy Gardner, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2024 Because away from the shadow of his tempestuous offscreen life and the legacy of his work in melodrama, there lurked a gifted comedian, one who could pivot from dry, biting delivery to complex wordplay to slapstick in the blink of an eye. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 8 Dec. 2023 While tempestuous politics and geopolitics, the climate challenge, and an uncertain economy all had their place in the formal agenda, every discussion somehow seemed to find its way back to the disruptive technology. Alan Murray, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2024 The singer-songwriter and the ex-drummer in '80s sensations Culture Club had a tempestuous relationship when the band was first making its way in the pop world. Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 11 Jan. 2024 There was little mention at the trial of Trump’s tempestuous prior relationship with a different part of Deutsche Bank. Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 16 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tempestuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tempestuous, Latinization of tempestous, borrowed from Anglo-French, re-formation of Late Latin tempestuōsus, from tempestu-, probably extracted from Latin tempestūt-, tempestūs, archaic variant of tempestāt-, tempestās "stretch of time, season, weather, tempest entry 1" + -ōsus -ous

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tempestuous was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near tempestuous

Cite this Entry

“Tempestuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tempestuous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tempestuous

adjective
tem·​pes·​tu·​ous tem-ˈpes-chə-wəs How to pronounce tempestuous (audio)
-ˈpesh-
: violent sense 1, stormy
a tempestuous sea
a tempestuous relationship
tempestuously adverb
tempestuousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on tempestuous

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