Tempest
noun /ˈtɛmpɪst/ — A violent, dramatic storm.
Definition
A violent windstorm, typically with rain, thunder, or hail — and by extension, any situation of great turbulence, conflict, or emotional intensity. Shakespeare's final play borrowed the word and made it permanent.
Beyond the definition
Tempest is storm at its most dramatic. Not the mild English drizzle — tempest is the kind of weather that rearranges landscapes and ends ships. It is also the vocabulary of inner life: a person can be in a tempest, can survive one, can be the eye of one.
Origin & history
Old French 'tempeste,' from Latin 'tempestas' — season, storm, from 'tempus' (time). The connection: at a time when seasons determined everything, bad weather was simply 'the time.'
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The tempest came in from the west with almost no warning.
Shakespeare set the whole play in a tempest — chaos made into theatre.
She'd survived an internal tempest so complete that the aftermath felt like a different country.
Synonyms
storm, gale, squall, maelstrom, turbulence
Antonyms
calm, stillness, serenity
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Waterfall crashing into deep gorge
A massive waterfall plummets into a swirling river, dwarfing an adult standing on a rocky ledge nearby.
The scale of the waterfall and the intensity of the swirling river embody the destructive, violent energy of a tempest. It suggests a situation of overwhelming, chaotic force that naturally evokes deep feelings of turbulence and awe within a human observer.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration