Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The din and commotion of a great crowd.
- n. A disorderly commotion or disturbance.
- n. A tempestuous uprising; a riot.
- n. Agitation of the mind or emotions: "I spend much time in a tumult of anger and disbelief” ( Scott Turow).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The commotion, disturbance, or agitation of a multitude, usually accompanied with great noise, uproar, and confused talking; an uproar; hence, a noisy uprising, as of a mob.
- n. Violent commotion or agitation, with confusion of sounds.
- n. Agitation; high excitement; irregular or confused motion.
- n. Synonyms Disturbance, turbulence, confusion, hubbub, ferment, outbreak, mêlée.
- To make a tumult; be in great commotion.
Wiktionary
- n. The noise as made by a crowd.
- n. A riot or uprising.
- v. obsolete To make a tumult; to be in great commotion.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The commotion or agitation of a multitude, usually accompanied with great noise, uproar, and confusion of voices; hurly-burly; noisy confusion.
- n. Violent commotion or agitation, with confusion of sounds.
- n. Irregular or confused motion; agitation; high excitement.
- v. obsolete To make a tumult; to be in great commotion.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the act of making a noisy disturbance
- n. a state of commotion and noise and confusion
- n. violent agitation
Etymologies
- From Latin tumultus ("noise, tumult"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English tumulte, from Latin tumultus. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“This week's theme is songs that articulate uncertainty, whether at a macro level (a world in tumult) or a micro one (a relationship breaking down).”
“Its fair lakes reflect a blue and gentle sky; and, when troubled by the winds, their tumult is but as the play of a lively infant, when compared to the roarings of the giant ocean.”
“The entire town arose in tumult to pursue him, when he stumbled over a dead body, and was seized.”
“Think of every synonym connected with the word tumult and you will get”
“Anne endeavoured to reduce the Parliament to obediance by arresting and imprisoning two members; but the Parisians rose in tumult, and she was forced to yield the captives, but resolved on revenge.”
A Parallel History of France and England; Consisting of Outlines and Dates
“They shall be dashed in pieces one against another (v. 13): A great tumult from the Lord shall be among them.”
““A trifling dispute,” said the Gothic leader, with a firm but gentle tone of voice, “appears to have arisen between the two nations; but it may be productive of the most dangerous consequences, unless the tumult is immediately pacified by the assurance of our safety, and the authority of our presence.””
“His subjects were impatient of the long continuance of his life and reign: yet all who were capable of reflection apprehended the moment of his death, which might involve the capital in tumult, and the empire in civil war.”
“Excited by his voice, the people assembled in tumult; the two houses of prayer were consumed by the flames, but the vacant ground was immediately occupied by the foundations of a new mosch.”
“13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tumult’.
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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EN - archaic words
abide, abjure, abroad, adamant, afield, aforetime, aghast, anon, apace, argent, assuage, aught and 328 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Confusually
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baffle, farrago, confound, befuddle, daze, disorient, discombobulate, stupefy, perplex, mystify, bewilder, boggle and 134 more...
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501
Classic
bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august and 401 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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The Request Line
This is the place to add words you'd like Charles Harrington Elster to pronounce for you!
swingeing, affiant, dahlia, hydrangea, re, clematis, Nabokov, casu marzu, schadenfreudgeon, nefarious, mewl, manteion and 170 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 567 more...
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Japnam's To dos
umbrage, moribund, vaunt, budge, trifling, heyday, precipitous, eminence, thwarting, peter out, tumult, tennybopper and 4 more...
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Wuthering Heights
Obscure classic English words in Wuthering Heights you barely understand till you check the dictionary out.
conjecture, tenant, sinewy, peevish, pious, advent, tumult, parlour, villanous, stalwart, soliloquise, gaiters and 6 more...
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VOCUBLARY
purge, wield, remedy, shepherd, numen, bizarre, enamor, bigotry, tumult, commotion, agitate, rebuff and 8 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1861 more...
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Dictionary.com Words of the Days of 1999
1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
emolument, palindrome, deprecate, bivouac, umbrage, incipient, dapple, pugnacious, capitulate, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious and 229 more...
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Is it morning yet?
coterie, lexeme, counterbalance, forthright, pigtail, ponytail, french-braid, barrette, listless, counsel, sitting duck, dead duck and 268 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tumult.
milosrdenstvi Thanks to Mr. Elster for the pronunciation! Many people I know pronounce the first syllable as in tummy. I have always considered that somewhat beastly. Jan 7, 2011