different between uproar vs flurry

English

Etymology

Calque of Dutch oproer or German Aufruhr. Possibly influenced by roar.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??p???/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??p????/

Noun

uproar (countable and uncountable, plural uproars)

1. Tumultuous, noisy excitement. [from 1520s]
2. Loud confused noise, especially when coming from several sources.
3. A loud protest, controversy, outrage

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:commotion

Derived terms

• uproarious
• uproarish

Translations

Verb

uproar (third-person singular simple present uproars, present participle uproaring, simple past and past participle uproared)

1. (transitive) To throw into uproar or confusion.
   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 3,^[1]

     […] had I power, I should

     Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell,

     Uproar the universal peace, confound

     All unity on earth.

2. (intransitive) To make an uproar.
   • 1661, William Caton, The Abridgment of Eusebius Pamphilius’s Ecclesiastical History, London: Francis Holden, 1698, Part II, p. 110, note,^[2]

     […] through their Tumultuous Uproaring have they caused the peaceable and harmless to suffer […]

   • 1824, Thomas Carlyle (translator), Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship and Travels by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, New York: A.L. Burt, 1839, Book 4, Chapter 8, pp. 210-211,^[3]

     […] the landlady entering at this very time with news that his wife had been delivered of a dead child, he yielded to the most furious ebullitions; while, in accordance with him, all howled and shrieked, and bellowed and uproared, with double vigor.

   • 1828, Robert Montgomery, The Omnipresence of the Deity, London: Samuel Maunder, Part II, p. 56,^[4]

     When red-mouth’d cannons to the clouds uproar,

     And gasping hosts sleep shrouded in their gore,

   • 1829, Mason Locke Weems, The Life of General Francis Marion, Philadelphia: Joseph Allen, Chapter 12, p. 106,^[5]

     Officers, as well as men, now mingle in the uproaring strife, and snatching the weapons of the slain, swell the horrid carnage.

Translations

References

English

Etymology

Perhaps an American English blend of flutter and hurry. Alternatively, perhaps from an obsolete term flurr (“scatter”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?fl??i/ (accents with the "Foot-strut" split)
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?fl??i/ (accents without the "Foot-strut" split)
• Rhymes: -?ri
• (US) IPA^(key): /?fl??i/ (accents without the "Hurry-furry" merger)
  • Rhymes: -?ri
• (US) IPA^(key): /?fl?.?i/ (accents with the "Hurry-furry" merger)

Noun

flurry (plural flurries)

1. A light, brief snowfall.
2. A sudden and brief blast or gust; a light, temporary breeze.

   a flurry of wind

3. A shower of dust, leaves etc. brought on by a sudden gust of wind.
4. (figuratively) Any sudden activity; a stir.
   • 1998, Gillian Catriona Ramchand, Deconstructing the Lexicon, in Miriam Butt and Wilhelm Geuder, eds. “The Projection of Arguments”

     These [argument structure] modifications are important because they have provoked a flurry of investigation into argument structure operations of merger, demotion etc.

5. A snack consisting of soft ice cream mixed with small pieces of fruit, cookie crumbs, etc.
   • 1988, K. Wayne Wride, Fruit Treats (in Vegetarian Times number 134, October 1988, page 27)

     Does your "Forbidden Foods" list include banana splits, ice cream sundaes, slurpies, popsicles, frozen yogurts, milk shakes, and ice cream flurries? These foods taste great but have a reputation for being bad for your health.

   • 2002, Tampa Bay Magazine (volume 17, number 3, May-June 2002, page 235)

     They will make your tongue smile with their homemade ice cream, which was voted "Best Taste in the USA Today." Enjoy exciting toppings to personalize your treat or a yummy sundae, flurry, smoothie, banana split or shake...

6. The violent spasms of a dying whale.
7. An occurrence of something (countable instances) in large numbers, happening suddenly or in a short period of time.

   Synonyms: volley, barrage

Translations

Verb

flurry (third-person singular simple present flurries, present participle flurrying, simple past and past participle flurried)

1. (transitive) To agitate, bewilder, fluster.
   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 1:

     And so venturing not to say another word, poor Jemima trotted off, exceedingly flurried and nervous.
2. (intransitive) To move or fall in a flurry.

Translations