tumult
UK /ˈtjuː.mʌlt/ · US /ˈtuː.mʌlt/ noun, verb
Forms tumults tumulting tumulted
- noun Confused, agitated noise as made by a crowd.
- noun A violent commotion or agitation, often with a confusion of sounds. “the tumult of the elements”
- noun A riot or uprising.
- verb (obsolete) To make a tumult; to be in great commotion.
Synonyms
uproar ruckus hurly-burly tumultuousness garboil turmoil commotion din ruction rumpus
Etymology
From Old French tumulte, from Latin tumultus (“noise, tumult”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The commotion or agitation of a multitude, usually accompanied with great noise, uproar, and confusion of voices; hurly-burly; noisy confusion.
- noun Violent commotion or agitation, with confusion of sounds; as, the tumult of the elements. Addison.
- verb To make a tumult; to be in great commotion. [Obs.]
Etymology [L.tumultus; probably akin to Skr. tumula noise, noisy, and perhaps to L. tumere to swell, E. tumid: cf. F. tumulte.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tumult”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details