Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tempestuous

/tɛmˈpɛs.tʃu.əs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English

Syllables
tem-pest-u-ous
IPA
/tɛmˈpɛs.tʃu.əs/
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a tempest; also, of a place: frequently experiencing tempests; (very) stormy.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Late Middle English tempestious, tempestous, tempestuous (“stormy, turbulent, tempestuous”), from Anglo-Norman tempestous, and Old French tempesteus, tempestos, tempestous, tempestuose (modern French tempétueux), and directly from its etymon Latin tempestuōsus (“stormy, turbulent, tempestuous; impetuous”), from tempestās, tempestūs (“point or period of time; season; weather, specifically bad weather; storm, tempest”) (from tempus (“period of time; (rare) weather”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- (“to cut”) or *ten- (“to extend, stretch”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is equivalent to tempest + -uous (a variant of -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting the presence of a quality, typically in abundance)).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /tɛmˈpɛs.tʃu.əs/
  • British English: /tɛmˈpɛs.tjʊ.əs/

Inflected Forms

more tempestuous (comparative) most tempestuous (superlative) tempestous (alternative)

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce tempestuous?
The recorded pronunciation is /tɛmˈpɛs.tʃu.əs/.
What does tempestuous mean?
Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a tempest; also, of a place: frequently experiencing tempests; (very) stormy.
Where does tempestuous come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce tempestuous

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tempestuous”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tɛmˈpɛs.tʃu.əs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tempestuous”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tempestuous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.