tempestuous.

1. Marked by violent or turbulent storm conditions.

2. Characterized by intense conflict, emotion, or sudden changes.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• tempestuous sea
• tempestuous weather

On the page

The tempestuous sea battered the outer breakwater.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting / environment. Forms: Comparative more tempestuous; superlative most tempestuous when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: setting, description. Commonness: moderately common.