Meaning & use
tempestuous
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Full of intense, stormy feelings and frequent angry outbursts.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a tempestuous affair, their marriage was tempestuous.
Patterns
- a tempestuous relationship
- tempestuous temperament
Their tempestuous marriage ended after years of shouting and reconciliations.
She was known for her tempestuous temper on set.
The two leaders had a tempestuous relationship that shaped the whole decade.
adjectivecomparableformal
Marked by wild, rapidly changing and often difficult events.
Grammar: Describes a period or situation: a tempestuous year.
Patterns
- tempestuous times
- a tempestuous period
It was a tempestuous year for the company, with three changes of leadership.
The country passed through a tempestuous decade of strikes and unrest.
The negotiations were tempestuous from the first day.
adjectivecomparableliterary
Describing weather or water that is very stormy and violent.
Grammar: A more literary word for storm-like conditions: tempestuous seas.
Patterns
- tempestuous seas
- a tempestuous night
The ferry was cancelled because of the tempestuous seas.
A tempestuous wind rattled every window in the old house.
They sailed through a tempestuous night with waves breaking over the deck.
Word forms
| comparative | more tempestuous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most tempestuous |
Common combinations
- tempestuous relationship
- The pair had a tempestuous relationship, full of dramatic quarrels.
- tempestuous affair
- Their tempestuous affair made the newspapers.
- tempestuous seas
- The old lighthouse stands above tempestuous seas.
- tempestuous temper
- His tempestuous temper made him hard to work with.
- tempestuous times
- The painter lived through tempestuous times.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stormy
- Stormy is the plainer, everyday word and works for weather or arguments, while tempestuous sounds more dramatic and literary.
- turbulent
- Turbulent stresses disorder and rough movement, and it also suits air, water and politics, whereas tempestuous focuses on passion.
- volatile
- Volatile suggests something that can suddenly turn dangerous, while tempestuous describes something already stormy.
- fiery
- Fiery highlights a hot temper or passion but not necessarily ongoing turmoil.
Opposites
Word family
- tempest noun
- a violent storm, or a state of wild disturbance
- tempestuously adverb
- in a stormy, passionate way
- tempestuousness noun
- the quality of being stormy or passionate
Commonly confused: tempestuous or tumultuous?
tempestuous vs tumultuous
Tumultuous means noisy, confused and disorderly, often describing a crowd or applause. Tempestuous means stormy and passionate, especially in feelings or relationships.
Practice
Which phrase best describes a couple who constantly argue and make up dramatically?
Choose one answer.
Tempestuous describes a stormy relationship full of strong feelings. Placid means calm, and tepid and temperate suggest mildness, so they do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tempestuous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.