turbulence

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈtɜrbjələns/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    Violent or unsteady movement of air or water, or of some other fluid.; A state of conflict, confusion, or disorder; upheaval.; In fluid dynamics, a flow regime characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

air turbulencefinancial turbulencepolitical turbulencehit turbulenceexperience turbulencemarket turbulence

Derivatives

turbulentturbulentlyturbulency

Synonyms

turmoilupheavalinstabilitychaosagitationdisturbance

Antonyms

calmstabilitytranquilityorder

Commonly confused

disturbance
EN: 'Disturbance' is a broader term for any disruption, while 'turbulence' specifically implies violent, irregular, or chaotic motion or unrest.
turbulency
EN: 'Turbulency' is a rare and largely obsolete variant of 'turbulence'; the standard modern form is 'turbulence'.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the ending is '-ence' (not '-ance'), and the 'u' comes before the 'r': t-u-r-b-u-l-e-n-c-e.

💬 Examples

  1. The plane encountered severe turbulence as it flew through the storm.

  2. The country experienced years of political turbulence after the revolution.

  3. The engineer studied the turbulence patterns in the wind tunnel.