tsunami

noun

1. 1

   A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption; often a series of waves (a wave train).

   A tsunami struck Japan recently.

   A wave simulator in the tank can re-enact tsunamis and northeasters, and imitate wave conditions from midocean.

   One indispensable and thankless Unesco task is organizing tsunami warnings systems and pushing for tsunami education on risky shores around the world.

2. 2

   figurativeA large and generally unstoppable surge.

   It seemed that what started out as a handful of isolated cases gradually turned into a tsunami of complaints.

   It set off a tsunami of debate among the more esoteric critics, who either loved it or hated it but could not ignore it.

   The next decade would culminate in a tsunami of legislation, civil litigation, and criminal prosecutions in which assisted suicide was both criminalized (as in Michigan) and decriminalized (as in Oregon).

   The editor paid a heavy price - he was subsequently compelled to offer a grovelling and humiliating personal apology, following a tsunami of protest.

Forms

plural

tsunamis