outbreaks

noun

plural of outbreak
1
as in flurries
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 outbreaks The pediatric outbreaks that get flagged don't reflect the true gravity of the HIV crisis, public health experts warn. — Betsy Joles, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026 The birds face mounting threats, including entanglement in fishing nets, plastic pollution, disease outbreaks and competition with fisheries for food. — ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 Health experts recommend vaccination for everyone over a year old, and infants older than six months who will travel out of the country or to areas with active measles outbreaks. — Eva Flowe august 31, Charlotte Observer, 31 Aug. 2026 Last week, Congo began vaccinating health and other front-line workers with the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type called Zaire. — Constant Same Bagalwa, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 That's why places like daycares or other school settings can be perfect incubators for measles outbreaks. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 Most of these cases will occur in Africa and Asia, but many countries in the Americas and Europe are reporting outbreaks affecting hundreds or thousands of people. — Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2026 Over the past decade, its forest carbon sink weakened by about 27 percent as harvesting, ageing stands, drought, heat, wildfire and insect outbreaks reduced forest resilience. — Kari Stoever, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026 Experts say consumers can stay safe from outbreaks by keeping up with food recalls, washing produce well, refrigerating produce properly, and monitoring symptoms linked to foodborne illnesses. — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outbreaks
  1. flurries
  2. insurrections
  3. bursts
  4. revolts
  5. outbursts
  6. uprisings
  7. rebellions
  8. mutinies
Noun
  • 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 past 14 years have included some flurries of diplomatic contact between Iran and the West.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
Definition of flurries
Noun
  • There were rebellions, insurrections and an Appian Way lined with crucifixions.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
  • But the regime, besieged by insurrections across the country, abandoned Manbij.
    — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Definition of insurrections
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
  • Not since voters passed Proposition 13, an iconic property tax limit, in 1978 and touched off tax revolts in other states has a California measure potentially affected America’s taxation policies so broadly.
    — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Donor revolts—growing widespread skepticism toward higher education.
    — Scott White, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of revolts
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
  • As the portrait advances, the three men move deeper into a Europe ravaged by wars and uprisings.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • For a brief moment during the 2010–11 Arab uprisings, the drive for change seemed unstoppable, but otherwise the arrangement worked.
    — MARC LYNCH, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of uprisings
Noun
  • The second book, Shift, consists of alternating flashback sequences, telling both the origin story of the silos and tales from past rebellions.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026
  • In several instances these rituals were utilized during slave rebellions; the New York slave rebellion of 1712 reportedly began with a pact sealed in blood and powder, a practice with African religious parallels.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of rebellions
Noun
  • That mobility occasionally allowed for communication and coordination during mutinies.
    — Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
  • This includes leader assassination attempts by political opponents or lone wolves or mutinies by disgruntled soldiers who might even march on the presidential palace to demand higher pay, promotions or other policy concessions.
    — John Joseph Chin, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025
Definition of mutinies

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Cite this Entry

“Outbreaks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outbreaks. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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