tumult means confused, agitated noise as made by a crowd. It carries an Arena rating of 1947, earned across 37 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, tumult ranks #618 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #671 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #824 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,361 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
tumult is pronounced /ˈtjuː.mʌlt/.
Why “tumult” is a great word
A state of violent and noisy commotion or disturbance, as of a crowd or mob; an uproar. From Old French tumulte, from Latin tumultus ("noise, tumult, uproar"), from tumēre ("to swell"). Unlike "tranquility," which is a settled and pervasive calm, or "ado," a trivial and often performative fuss, tumult is the violent swell of the communal body. It is the market square overturned, the crash of furniture and shattering glass, the deafening convergence of a thousand panicked voices in a suddenly darkened square—the sound of order coming undone, leaving a silence that feels not like peace, but like absence.
Etymology
From Old French tumulte, from Latin tumultus (“noise, tumult”).
noun
- Confused, agitated noise as made by a crowd.e.g.“Till in loud tumult all the Greeks arose.” — 1725, Homer, “Book III”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
- A violent commotion or agitation, often with a confusion of sounds.e.g.“the tumult of the elements”
- A riot or uprising.
verb
- To make a tumult; to be in great commotion.e.g.“Importuning and tumulting even to the fear of a revolt.” — 1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- tumultuate 78% match — To make a tumult. vs tumult →
- tumultuous 75% match — Characterized by loud, confused noise. vs tumult →
- tumultuary 73% match — Attended by, or producing, a tumult; disorderly; confused; tumultuous. vs tumult →
- tumultuousness 72% match — The quality of being tumultuous. vs tumult →
- commotion 69% match — A state of turbulent motion. vs tumult →
- untumultuous 68% match — Not tumultuous; calm, placid. vs tumult →
- tumultuariness 67% match — The quality or state of being tumultuary. vs tumult →
- pandemonium 64% match — A loud, wild, tumultuous protest, disorder, or chaotic situation, usually of a crowd, often violent. vs tumult →