gales

noun

plural of gale
as in bursts
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling the audience responded to the comedian's joke with gales of laughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 gales New York’s summer weather has been a trial and a tribulation, intense heat — temperatures reached over 100 degrees in Central Park on the hottest day in July — alternating with gales and floods. — Matthew Schneier, Curbed, 27 Aug. 2026 Our arrival in the Madawaska River country of eastern Ontario, near Combermere, was noteworthy only for the snow flurries and marrow-chilling gales that howled down from Hudson Bay to greet us. — Harry H. Edel, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026 The weather in Wales was terrible, with snow and freezing temperatures and Arctic gales. — Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 Out in the ferocious gales of the North Sea, on the overcrowded routes of the Irish Sea and the English Channel, and off to the islands’ west, the wide Atlantic herself. — Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025 Such physical effects of wind are translatable; and so, most important of all, are the quarters from which the blasts or the breezes or the gales appear to come. — Big Think, 18 Nov. 2025 Fifty years ago this month, the gales of November swallowed the SS Edmund Fitzgerald along with her crew of 29 men, one of the largest ships to go down on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes. — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 4 Nov. 2025 The threat of thunderstorms, gales, and violent lightning led to the cancellation of the final day of SailGP competition in Saint-Tropez. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025 Southern China also shuts down Southern China’s Hainan Island saw heavy rainfall and gales as the typhoon brushed past the island on Sunday. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gales
  1. bursts
  2. explosions
  3. gusts
  4. outbursts
  5. eruptions
  6. flashes
  7. storms
Noun
  • The former is meant to image extremely wide sections of the cosmos to capture tons of fleeting phenomena that are hard to catch — things like supernovas, fast radio bursts and maybe even colliding neutron stars.
    — Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • At night, the lighting turns the wings into a moving field of color while bursts of fire give the dragon the kind of oversized entrance Burning Man was made for.
    — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of bursts
Noun
  • The clever premise provides the opportunity for plenty of high-octane action sequences, including fistfights, shootouts, explosions and car chases, with the hapless Ben providing comic relief from Hank’s Terminator-like indestructibility.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Several heavy explosions shook Kuhestak, with fireballs that lighted up the night sky, according to security camera recordings carried by the semiofficial news agency Fars.
    — David Rising, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of explosions
Noun
  • Wind gusts of 60 to 67 mph were reported in the county with the storm on Tuesday afternoon, the weather service said.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Tropical storm-force wind gusts capable of causing spotty power outages are also possible along the coast from the potential storm’s most intense bands of rain.
    — Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of gusts
Noun
  • The 36-year-old Hubble also is dropping in orbit because of the sun’s recent outbursts.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • He was accused of two other antisemitic outbursts and was eventually convicted in France on hate-speech charges.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of outbursts
Noun
  • Seeing the Braves compete in this series with the Dodgers, from the walk-off win to the ace performances to the timely snags to Truist Park’s eruptions, hearkened back memories of October 2021.
    — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Mann said that the study doesn't have a complete record of corals over the past 1,000 years, and also that his research has shown that volcanic eruptions have played more of a role than climate change in past El Niño events.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of eruptions
Noun
  • Peak foliage in the Rangeley Lakes region more often occurs during the last week of September into the first week of October, but the cooler temperatures, quiet lakes, and first flashes of color arrive sooner.
    — Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • On the field, both teams showed flashes of talent, made big plays and had a chance to win at the end.
    — Austin Horn August 29, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of flashes
Noun
  • There is a slight chance of storms on Sunday afternoon, with a 15% to 25% chance of precipitation, but some forecasts call for dry conditions.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • In the meantime, several storms were brewing in the Pacific Ocean, including Lowell, which reached hurricane strength Tuesday morning.
    — Jamie Stengle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of storms

Browse Nearby Words

galères
gales
galette
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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