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Definition of "turbulence" []

  • The state or quality of being turbulent: times of turbulence and confusion. (noun)
  • Turbulent flow. (noun)
  • An eddying motion of the atmosphere that interrupts the flow of wind. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "turbulence" in a sentence
  • "The strong distortion of laser fields in turbulence is due in large part to the coherent nature of a laser beam, which means that phase distortions in the laser field result in interference of the beam with itself and large fluctuations in the beam intensity."
  • "Claire McCaskill is returning the private jet she used taxpayer dollars to fly, prompting roughly 432,481,021 pun-tastic articles using the word "turbulence.""
  • "Whenever you believe that the present state of turbulence is destined to become a permanent condition, trouble brews."