1
as in flurry
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity there was an immediate outbreak of paper shuffling and a pretense of work when the supervisor passed through the room

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2
as in revolt
open fighting against authority (as one's own government) the government quelled the outbreak with ruthless efficiency

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of outbreak These outbreaks, combined with severe cuts to public health infrastructure, could reverse decades of progress in life expectancy and well-being. Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025 The infant recently traveled internationally to Chihuahua, Mexico, where there is an active measles outbreak, according to the same source. Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2025 Response to multistate measles outbreak hampered by unique set of challenges The outbreak began in rural Gaines County, Texas, where most of the cases are concentrated, but Tuesday’s update shows spread into 21 Texas counties. Neha Mukherjee, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025 Total foreign aid, from the U.S. and others, picked up again when the Ebola outbreak began. Mara Kardas-Nelson, The Dial, 8 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for outbreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreak
Noun
  • Wall Street analysts have issued a flurry of downgrades for the S&P 500, and billionaire business leaders are pushing back against Trump.
    Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
  • This time last year, the Mets had already made a flurry of pitching transactions to plug the bullpen leaks and would continue to do so through April.
    Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • That led to a developer revolt, a subreddit blackout, and the shutdown of some popular Reddit clients.
    Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025
  • The revolt against Tesla is not slowing down, and in some cases people are outright getting rid of their cars.
    Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 29 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The transformed Hidden Jungle aviary bursts with hundreds of butterflies each spring, attracting butterfly enthusiasts from across the region.
    Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
  • An 8-year-old Utah boy jumping on a trampoline miraculously survived after a strong wind burst sent him several feet into the air.
    David Chiu, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Fitch cited the January 6th insurrection as a significant concern.
    Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The exchange comes after the president issued a blanket pardon for nearly all of those charged for the insurrection just hours after returning to the White House.
    Tara Suter, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Common types include oppositional defiant disorder (distrust and aggression toward authority figures) and intermittent explosive disorder (frequent outbursts of anger).
    Mark Gurarie, Verywell Health, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Muncy’s two errors allowed the Braves to jump on them, and the second-inning outburst was extended when Andy Pages misjudged a ball in center field that clanked off his glove for a run-scoring double.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Alaa Abd El-Fattah was a leading activist in the country’s 2011 uprising.
    Mounira Elsamra, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Many of the demonstrators in this 1852 uprising in Guovdageaidnu (a city known to Norwegians as Kautokeino) were subsequently imprisoned, and some died behind bars.
    Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • It has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America's Old West and as a tool of terror and political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025
  • An article on Sunday about a small mutiny at Chautauqua Institution misidentified the writer of a letter quoted from The Gadfly.
    New York Times, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The hit show returns with its sixth and final season on April 8, and audiences should brace for an explosive finale as the rebellion in Gilead finally ignites.
    Abigail Lee, Variety, 5 Apr. 2025
  • The title is borrowed from Elizabeth Alexander’s fourth collection persona poems, historical narratives, jazz riffs, sonnets, elegies, and a sequence of ars poetica which examines the Black experience through the lens of the slave rebellion on the Amistad and nineteenth-century American art.
    Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Outbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreak. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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