TURBULENCE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
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English (UK)

Meaning of turbulence in English

turbulence
noun [ U ]
uk
/ˈtɜː.bjə.ləns/ us
/ˈtɝː.bjə.ləns/

turbulence noun [U] (CONFUSION)

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a state of confusion without any order:
The era was characterized by political and cultural turbulence.
There are signs of turbulence ahead for the economy.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Social order & disorder
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

turbulence noun [U] (AIR/WATER MOVEMENT)

strong sudden movements within air or water:
We might be experiencing some turbulence on this flight due to an approaching electrical storm.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Floods, tides & currents
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(Definition of turbulence from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

turbulence | American Dictionary

turbulence
noun [ U ]
us
/ˈtɜr·bjə·ləns/

turbulence noun [U] (CONFUSION)

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a state of confusion and lack of order:
political turbulence
His songs reflect the turbulence of his times.

turbulence noun [U] (CURRENTS)

strong, uneven currents in air or water:
The plane ran into some turbulence over the Atlantic.
(Definition of turbulence from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of turbulence

turbulence
They have, of course, occasional turbulences and there is an underlying wariness, but there are mechanisms for constant discussions and exchanges and frequent realignments of policy.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Statistical tests then allow the significance and contribution to the turbulence intensity of the detected structures to be evaluated.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
What follows should be considered as a general discussion on the nature of turbulence dynamics in view of the results obtained.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In the first one the flow is initially laminar and begins transition to turbulence.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The turbulence level in the test section of the water channel was less than 0.9%, in the 15 in. x 20 in.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
By fine-scaled it is meant that the length scale of the turbulence should be small compared to the wavelength of potentially unstable modes.
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Turbulence closure is effected a t second order.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We further presume that the required characteristics of the mean flow (mean velocity) and turbulence (intensity, scale size, etc.) may be specified.
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A consistent decrease of all turbulence lengthscales was observed across the interaction also for strong shocks.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
A large statistical database has been obtained which provides considerable insight to the structural and transport properties of thermally stratified turbulence.
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The presence of active small-scale turbulence appears responsible for the continuing isotropy of the smallest eddies.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Thus, the data could be helpful in evaluating or formulating a wave theory of turbulence.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The turbulence energy balance is examined, including the separate effects of vertical diffusion of pressure and local kinetic energy.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Nonetheless, the basic idea remains attractive, not only for reducing turbulence levels but also for the postponement of laminar/turbulent transition.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In the second instance, the vorticity of the main motion is comparable to the vorticity of the turbulence in the wavenumber range under consideration.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with turbulence

turbulence

These are words often used in combination with turbulence.

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atmospheric turbulence
The specific application was the scattering of electromagnetic signals by atmospheric turbulence.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
period of turbulence
In this extraordinary period of turbulence, the armed forces have maintained high credibility and a unity of purpose and performance.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
severe turbulence
Severe turbulence can be, and is, experienced at high level.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with turbulence
What is the pronunciation of turbulence?
 

Translations of turbulence

in Chinese (Traditional)
騷亂, 騷亂，騷動, 動盪，混亂…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
骚乱, 骚乱，骚动, 动荡，混乱…
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in Spanish
turbulencia…
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in Portuguese
turbulência…
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in more languages
in French
in Turkish
in Dutch
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Ukrainian
turbulence…
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çalkantı, girdap…
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woestheid…
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vzrušení, vířivost…
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stormfuldhed, turbulens…
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pergolakan…
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ความวุ่นวาย…
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sự hỗn loạn…
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burzliwość…
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oro, upprördhet, turbulens…
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pergolakan…
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der Sturm…
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(sterk) uro, turbulens…
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бурхливість, буйність…
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