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Webster 1913 Edition

Turmoil

Tur′moil

(tûr′moil)
sometimes
(tûr-moil′)
,
Noun.
[Of uncertain origin; perhaps fr. OF.
tremouille
the hopper of a mill,
trembler
to tremble (cf. E.
tremble
); influenced by E.
turn
and
moil
.]
Harassing labor; trouble; molestation by tumult; disturbance; worrying confusion.
And there I’ll rest, as after much
turmoil
,
A blessed soul doth in Elysium.
Shakespeare

Tur-moil′

(tûr-moil′)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Turmoiled
(tûr-moil′d)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Turmoiling
.]
To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
[Obs.]
It is her fatal misfortune . . . to be miserably tossed and
turmoiled
with these storms of affliction.
Spenser.

Tur-moil′

,
Verb.
I.
To be disquieted or confused; to be in commotion.
[Obs.]
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Turmoil

TURMOIL'

,
Noun.
[I know not the origin of this word; but it is probably from the root of the L. turba,turbo, turma, or of turn.]
Disturbance, tumult; harassing labor; trouble; molestation by tumult.
There I'll rest, as after much turmoil
A blessed soul doth in Elysium.

TURMOIL'

,
Verb.
T.
To harass with commotion.
It is her fatal misfortune--to be miserably tossed and turmoiled with these storms of affliction.
1.
To disquiet; to weary.

TURMOIL'

,
Verb.
I.
To be disquieted; to be in commotion.

Definition 2024

turmoil

turmoil

English

Noun

turmoil ‎(usually uncountable, plural turmoils)

  1. A state of great disorder or uncertainty.
    • 2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “]http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18181971 England 1-0 Ukraine]”, in BBC Sport:
      Oleg Blokhin's side lost the talismanic Andriy Shevchenko to the substitutes' bench because of a knee injury but still showed enough to put England through real turmoil in spells.
  2. Harassing labour; trouble; disturbance.
    • Shakespeare
      And there I'll rest, as after much turmoil, / A blessed soul doth in Elysium.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 7, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

turmoil ‎(third-person singular simple present turmoils, present participle turmoiling, simple past and past participle turmoiled)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be disquieted or confused; to be in commotion.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
    • Spenser
      It is her fatal misfortune […] to be miserably tossed and turmoiled with these storms of affliction.

Etymology

Unknown origin. Perhaps from Old French tremouille ‎(“the hopper of a mill”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtɜːmɔɪl/

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