tempestuous

Definitions

From tempest + -ous ('full of'). Tempest itself comes from Latin tempestas ('a stretch of weather, a season,' from tempus), which narrowed to mean bad weather — a storm. So tempestuous = 'full of storm,' used both literally (wild seas) and figuratively (a wild, turbulent relationship).

Why It Means This

Tempestuous links back to tempus through tempestas, originally 'the weather a season brings.' Because seasonal weather so often meant storms, the word came to mean violent weather specifically. English then borrowed the metaphor: just as a storm is wild and uncontrollable, a tempestuous love affair or argument is emotionally turbulent and volatile.

Common Collocations

• 1.tempestuous relationship动荡的感情关系
• 2.tempestuous weather狂风暴雨的天气
• 3.tempestuous affair狂烈的恋情
• 4.tempestuous marriage动荡的婚姻

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The ship struggled through a tempestuous night at sea.

• 2.

  They had a tempestuous relationship full of fights and reconciliations.

• 3.

  The meeting turned tempestuous as tempers flared.