as in bursts
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
the audience responded to the comedian's joke with gales of laughter
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Recent Examples of gales
Southern China also shuts down Southern China’s Hainan Island saw heavy rainfall and gales as the typhoon brushed past the island on Sunday.
—
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
Strong winds were also a concern in areas where residents are accustomed to heavy rain, but not necessarily cyclone-strength gales.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
The front will have strong north to northeast winds behind it and prompt development of gales offshore of Tampico, Mexico through early Friday morning creating peak seas with 12- to 14-foot waves.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
The storm, named Eowyn, brought gales to Ireland throughout Friday morning and afternoon, according to the Irish Meteorological Service.
—Claire Moses, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2024
Nuclear power plants have increasingly been seen as a carbon pollution-free source of electricity that can fill in for solar and wind farms when the sun sets and gales weaken.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024
Slowly the mystical land enters her inner world and – one day at a time – Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 25 Aug. 2025
Strong winds were also a concern in areas where residents are accustomed to heavy rain, but not necessarily cyclone-strength gales.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
The front will have strong north to northeast winds behind it and prompt development of gales offshore of Tampico, Mexico through early Friday morning creating peak seas with 12- to 14-foot waves.
—Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
The storm, named Eowyn, brought gales to Ireland throughout Friday morning and afternoon, according to the Irish Meteorological Service.
—Claire Moses, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Winter gales and ice were a constant threat.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2024
Nuclear power plants have increasingly been seen as a carbon pollution-free source of electricity that can fill in for solar and wind farms when the sun sets and gales weaken.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 4 Dec. 2024
Slowly the mystical land enters her inner world and – one day at a time – Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gales
Noun
-
The palate bursts with rich, agave-forward flavors, revealing curious floral nuances of geranium and sweet spices.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The bursts packed a punch, uprooting even mature trees in the Carmichael area, and disrupting power to thousands of Sacramento Municipal Utility District customers.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The test marked a welcome victory for SpaceX and the budding launch vehicle, which suffered in-flight upper stage explosions during each of this year's three Starship launches leading up to Flight 10.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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The barrage appeared to target several Ukrainian regions, with local authorities reporting explosions in the western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Anticipate quarter-sized hail (1 inch) and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The tornado would be classified at the top of the Fujita Scale — an F5 — with gusts of more than 200 mph.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But when his streams became more reactionary, filled with outbursts, expletives, and certified crashouts over losing levels, subscribers flocked in.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
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This student’s outbursts had been an ongoing issue for three years, and Elliot quickly realized that few teachers had received the necessary restraint training to handle this student.—
IndyStar,
IndyStar,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The researchers see applications in monitoring sandstorms, volcanic eruptions, and other airborne hazards.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
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Ancient eruptions have formed dark layers of lava rock interbedded with pumice and pyroclastic flow deposits.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As the number one overall pick last year, Williams somewhat underperformed as a rookie, but some of that can be attributed to poor coaching, and the former Heisman Trophy winner showed flashes of brilliance at times.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Tyler Glasnow has shown unhittable flashes.—
The Athletic MLB Staff,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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According to the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, the average Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, sees 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes—categories 3, 4, and 5.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
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Friday’s widespread storms that served up floods and gridlock to afternoon commuters from the Keys to Coral Gables should begin to taper off as people head back out for a night on the town.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gales. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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