MEANING
To agitate violently or move in a vigorously disturbed, mixing motion.
Use it for
Turbulent water, mixed sediment, and forceful repeated agitation.Make a surface chaotic instead of merely fast.
Words that belong together
- water churns
- waves churn
- churn into foam
On the page
The river churned below the fallen tree.
Waves churned sand into the shallow water.
The current was churning so hard that no clear reflection remained.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- churn / churns
- Past tense
- churned
- Past participle
- churned
- Present participle
- churning
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- churn / churns
- Present continuous
- am/is/are churning
- Present perfect
- have/has churned
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been churning
- Past
- churned
- Past continuous
- was/were churning
- Past perfect
- had churned
- Past perfect continuous
- had been churning
- Future
- will churn / churns
- Future continuous
- will be churning
- Future perfect
- will have churned
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been churning
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: environment. Emphasizes turbulent mixing rather than a single directional rush; also has butter-making and figurative senses. Verb [base, third-person, past, past participle, -ing]: churn, churns, churned, churned, churning.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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