Synonyms of tempests

tempests

noun

plural of tempest

1

as in storms

a disturbance of the atmosphere accompanied by wind and often by precipitation (as rain or snow)

the sudden summertime tempest drove us off the golf course and into the clubhouse

Synonyms & Similar Words

• storms
• squalls
• blizzards
• thunderstorms
• hurricanes
• cyclones
• weathers
• snowstorms
• windstorms
• rainstorms
• hailstorms
• typhoons
• cloudbursts
• ice storms
• northers
• thundershowers
• sandstorms
• rainsqualls
• northeasters
• southeasters
• southwesters

2

as in upheavals

a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order)

the town council handled the tempest over cuts to the school budget as well as could be expected

Synonyms & Similar Words

• upheavals
• earthquakes
• storms
• revolutions
• insurrections
• convulsions
• revolts
• tumults
• uprisings
• turmoils
• rebellions
• paroxysms
• cataclysms
• mutinies
• uproars
• eruptions
• stirs
• insurgencies
• upsets
• outbursts
• commotions
• outbreaks
• overthrows
• bouleversements
• spasms
• seizures
• subversions
• squalls
• overturns
• coils
• fits
• rows
• bustles
• bluster
• ructions
• routs
• stews
• furors
• welters
• flare-ups
• fusses
• williwaws
• furores
• ruckuses
• rumpuses
• shindys
• pandemoniums
• hubbubs
• hurly-burlies
• to-dos
• hullabaloos
• bobberies

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tempests

In Homer’s Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must overcome tempests, temptations, mythical monsters, and divine wrath to sail home to the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026

One version of the nation’s history anchors itself in the efforts to navigate those tempests, to better the imperfect tools bequeathed to us by imperfect men. — Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

For now, Buttigieg has chosen to wait out the tempests in Traverse City, the hometown of his husband, Chasten, a former schoolteacher. — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026

But flooding — and not just from those tropical tempests — is a multibillion-dollar threat that is largely untracked by government agencies and often kept secret from the public. — Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2025

But instead of clouds and rain, these electromagnetic tempests are made of plasma, charged particles whipped into motion by Earth's magnetic field. — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 4 Aug. 2025

The force of the collision pushed up mountains three miles high; millions of years of tempests wore them down. — Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2024

Hwang seems to be suggesting that a line can indeed be drawn from the cultural tempests – too easily dismissed as matters of political correctness – to the real-world tragedies and obscenities that send innocent men to jail and early graves. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024