upheaval

[ uhp-hee-vuhl ]

noun

1. strong or violent change or disturbance, as in a society:

   the upheaval of war.

   Synonyms: turmoil, disorder, disruption

2. an act of upheaving, especially of a part of the earth's crust.
3. the state of being upheaved.
4. Geology. an upward warping of a part of the earth's crust, forcing certain areas into a relatively higher position than before.

upheaval

/ ʌpˈhiːvəl /

noun

1. a strong, sudden, or violent disturbance, as in politics, social conditions, etc
2. See uplift
   geology another word for uplift

Word History and Origins

Origin of upheaval¹

First recorded in 1830–40; upheave + -al ²

Example Sentences

She had made the varsity basketball team, one of the few bright spots during all the upheaval.

From Washington Post

Amid the management upheaval, the company’s fortunes sagged.

From Washington Post

The coronavirus pandemic has made strategic planning harder because of economic upheaval, personal stress, work and lifestyle changes, and the unpredictability of everything.

From MIT Technology Review

We’re in the midst of a global pandemic and national political upheaval unlike anything we’ve seen in the past 150 years.

From Outside Online

By now, schools and students are accustomed to the flux after the pandemic abruptly emptied campuses last March and caused widespread upheaval at the start of the school year in August and September.

From Washington Post

And by 1918 there had been a tumultuous upheaval of the four dynasties that dominated East and Central Europe.

From The Daily Beast

The country, long viewed as stable, has recently been home to upheaval.

From The Daily Beast

At a time when the rest of their lives were in no small upheaval, this result was a reassurance.

From The Daily Beast

Nothing is particularly clear because Thailand is in the middle of political upheaval and governed by martial law.

From The Daily Beast

That would be a recipe not just for Ukrainian instability but for instability and upheaval throughout the entire region.

From The Daily Beast

He was rejoicing in the upheaval that permitted debts to be paid with a bludgeon and money to be made without toil.

From Project Gutenberg

Aristide composed his face into an expression of parental interest; but within him there was shivering and sickening upheaval.

From Project Gutenberg

Life was a long business, not limited by the fiery upheaval which was shaking the foundations of social order.

From Project Gutenberg

For the social upheaval which the Reformation had brought about came in the train of a long period of economic disorder.

From Project Gutenberg

When he called him “Dick, old man”, it gave evidence of an internal upheaval without parallel.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cataclysm
• catastrophe
• disaster
• disorder
• disruption
• disturbance
• eruption
• explosion
• ferment
• outbreak
• revolution
• shakeout
• temblor
• tremor
• tumult
• turmoil