Adjacent Words

Turbulent definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TUR'BULENT, a. [L. turbulentus, from turbo, to disturb.]
1. Disturbed; agitated; tumultuous; being in violent commotion; as the turbulent ocean.
Calm region once,
And full of peace, now tost and turbulent.
The turbulent mirth of wine.
2. Restless; unquiet; refractory; disposed to insubordination and disorder; as turbulent spirits.
3. Producing commotion.
Whose heads that turbulent liquor fills with fumes.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination; "effects of the struggle will be violent and disruptive"; "riotous times"; "these troubled areas"; "the tumultuous years of his administration"; "a turbulent and unruly childhood" [syn: disruptive, riotous, troubled, tumultuous, turbulent]
2: (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence; "the river's roiling current"; "turbulent rapids" [syn: churning, roiling, roiled, roily, turbulent]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin turbulentus, from turba confusion, crowd — more at turbid Date: 1538 1. causing unrest, violence, or disturbance <a set of mischievous, turbulent rebels — Anne Brönte> 2. a. characterized by agitation or tumult ; tempestuous <a turbulent marriage> b. exhibiting physical turbulence <turbulent air> • turbulently adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 disturbed; in commotion. 2 (of a flow of air etc.) varying irregularly; causing disturbance. 3 tumultuous. 4 insubordinate, riotous. Derivatives: turbulently adv. Etymology: L turbulentus f. turba crowd

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Turbulent Tur"bu*lent, a. [L. turbulentus, fr. turba disorder, tumult: cf. F. turbulent. See Turbid.] 1. Disturbed; agitated; tumultuous; roused to violent commotion; as, the turbulent ocean. Calm region once, And full of peace, now tossed and turbulent. --Milton. 2. Disposed to insubordination and disorder; restless; unquiet; refractory; as, turbulent spirits. Sagacious, bold, and turbulent of wit. --Dryden. 3. Producing commotion; disturbing; exciting. Whose heads that turbulent liquor fills with fumes. --Milton. Syn: Disturbed; agitated; tumultuous; riotous; seditious; insubordinate; refractory; unquiet.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. A turbulent time, place, or relationship is one in which there is a lot of change, confusion, and disorder. They had been together for five or six turbulent years of rows and reconciliations... ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. Turbulent water or air contains strong currents which change direction suddenly. I had to have a boat that could handle turbulent seas. ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Disturbed, agitated, tumultuous, wild. 2. Tumultuous, disorderly, blustering, obstreperous, boisterous, uproarious, blatant, brawling, vociferous. 3. Riotous, seditious, mutinous, insubordinate, refractory, insurgent, rebellious, revolutionary, factious, disorderly, wild, violent. 4. Producing commotion.

Moby Thesaurus

agitated, amiss, anarchic, angry, askew, awry, blaring, blatant, blatting, blustering, blusterous, blustery, boiling, boisterous, brassy, brawling, brazen, breakaway, bustling, chaotic, clamant, clamorous, clamoursome, clanging, clangorous, clattery, cloudy, coarse, cockeyed, convulsed, cyclonic, deranged, dirty, disarranged, discomfited, discomposed, disconcerted, dislocated, disordered, disorderly, disorganized, disquieted, disturbed, excited, extreme, extremistic, factious, fast, feverish, fidgety, flurried, flustered, fluttering, fluttery, foul, frantic, frenzied, fretful, furious, fussing, fussy, haywire, hellish, howling, in disorder, infuriate, insensate, insurgent, insurrectionary, jittery, jumpy, loudmouthed, mad, mafficking, mindless, misplaced, mutineering, mutinous, nervous, nervy, noiseful, noisy, obstreperous, on the fritz, orgasmic, orgastic, out of gear, out of joint, out of kelter, out of kilter, out of order, out of place, out of tune, out of whack, pandemoniac, perturbed, quarrelsome, rackety, raging, rainy, rambunctious, raucous, ravening, raving, rebel, rebellious, restless, revolutional, revolutionary, riotous, rip-roaring, roaring, roily, roisterous, rough, roughhouse, rowdy, rowdyish, ruffled, rumbustious, seditionary, seditious, shaken, shaken up, shuffled, stirred up, storming, stormy, strepitant, strepitous, subversive, swirling, tempestuous, termagant, tornadic, traitorous, treasonable, troubled, troublous, tumultuous, turbid, typhonic, typhoonish, uncontrollable, uneasy, uninhibited, unpeaceful, unquiet, unruly, unsettled, uproarious, upset, vociferous, wild