1
as in bursts
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
the judge directed the courtroom spectators to refrain from any outbursts when the verdict was read
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in flurries
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity
there was a remarkable outburst of work in the office as the visiting VIPs made their tour
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in eruptions
the act or an instance of exploding
in the outburst known as a supernova, the star may reach an intrinsic luminosity one billion times that of the sun
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of outbursts
As 6-7 went viral, teachers complained that random outbursts by their students were interrupting their lessons.
—
Rebekah Willett, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2026
The war was officially declared over in July 2003 but violent outbursts continued.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
For a subset of children with disruptive behaviors like physical outbursts and tantrums that last 15 minutes or more, an early warning could be truly helpful.
—Michelle Fay Cortez, Bloomberg, 5 Jan. 2026
In his brief time in the House, freshman Jewish Congressman Randy Fine has built a reputation for combative outbursts — particularly about Muslims.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
These outbursts send radiation and charged particles hurling into space and can disrupt communications on Earth if the flare erupts from an Earth-facing sunspot.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Musk, whose partisan outbursts reportedly cost Tesla one million sales, remains the world’s wealthiest person, and could become the first-ever trillionaire.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Vahid’s ensuing road trip leads to mayhem and outbursts as well as some quite funny moments.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2025
Bolt later acknowledged that his outbursts were often just showmanship and a distraction from his focus on tournaments.
—Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbursts
Noun
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After testing the interest of sports fans in short-form content, Disney aims to bring brief bursts to a broader audience.—
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Operating for thousands of daily cycles over decades trumps quick bursts of power.—
Noun
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Snow flurries were a hopeful sign in the early-morning hours on Wednesday, covering the road and giving a light, white blanket to the slopes.—
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In a tunnel of thick black smoke, flurries of glowing red embers raced across the road, out to sea.—
Noun
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The world often failed to use those political eruptions to actually improve the lot of the people in those countries.—
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On top of that, cosmic rays and the Sun's own eruptions can upset electronics.—
Noun
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The explosions caused secondary fires that torched neighborhoods, according to the suit.—
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Test explosions became increasingly rare.—
Noun
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This has been clearly linked to outbreaks in nursing homes and hospitals.—
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Severe weather—from a derecho that hit the Northeast in April to a string of tornado outbreaks in the spring and summer—made up 91% of the billion-dollar disasters.—
Noun
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Benson has shown flashes of being a very productive player, but needs to do it consistently at the big-league level.—
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Symptoms include seeing flashes of light, spots in your vision (eye floaters), blurred vision and darkening of peripheral vision.—
Noun
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This kind of financial fallout was improbable just a few weeks ago, even though Telluride has short spurts of profitability that carry businesses and their employees through the otherwise tight times.—
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Memories would come back to her in little spurts.—
Noun
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Sustained, strong winds with even stronger gusts are happening.—
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Winds turn gusty behind the front, with northwest gusts up to 25 to 35 mph Sunday evening and overnight.—
Cite this Entry
“Outbursts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbursts. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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