Turmoil Meaning
/ˈtɜːmɔɪl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA state of great disorder or uncertainty.
nounHarassing labor; trouble; disturbance.
Sentence Examples
The dismissal of foreign minister Tanaka is symbolic of the continuing political turmoil.
The carp's longevity is unmolested by the turmoil of the millipede.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The entire country was in ____ following the sudden change in leadership.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The country was in a state of political ____ after the sudden change in government earlier this difficult afternoon today.
Word Origin & History
Unknown. First appears c. 1526. Perhaps from Old French tremouille (“the hopper of a mill”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Oleg Blokhin's side lost the talismanic Andriy Shevchenko to the substitutes' bench because of a knee injury but still showed enough to put England through real turmoil in spells."
— 2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:
"The Taoists developed their philosophy during an extended era of turmoil known as the Warring States period of Chinese history."
— 2024 January 14, Charles Hugh Smith, Self-Reliance, Taoism and the Warring States:
"And there I'll rest, as after much turmoil, / A blessed soul doth in Elysium."
— c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
"The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"some notable sophister lies sweating and turmoiling under the inevitable and merciless delimmas of Socrates"
— 1642 April, John Milton, An Apology for Smectymnuus; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], Amsterdam [actually London: s.n.], 1698, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The entire country was in ____ following the sudden change in leadership.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The country was in a state of political ____ after the sudden change in government earlier this difficult afternoon today.