n. 1
A violent agitation of human society; a domestic, civil, or political commotion.
The proposed reforms have led to a political storm.
v. 1
Preceded by the dummy subject it: to have strong winds and usually lightning and thunder, and/or hail, rain, or snow.
It stormed throughout the night.
v. 2
To make (someone or something) stormy; to agitate (someone or something) violently.

Related words

Word family: stormcock stormfinch storm-stayed stormwater storm-wracked stormy storming
Phrases: storm drain storm petrel dust storm storm chaser perfect storm cytokine storm storm cellar storm cloud

Forms

Plural: storms → tempests, hurricanes, tornadoes, squalls…
Past participle: stormed
e.g. stormed → raged, ramped, attacked, assaulted…

Choose the right word

Storm or Disturbance?

A storm is properly a disturbance of the atmosphere, with or without rain, snow, hail, or thunder and lightning. Thus we have rain-storm, snow-storm, etc., and by extension, magnetic storm.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

hurricane The death toll from the hurricane climbed to 200.
tornado With his camera, Tom captured a tornado in action.
tempest Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are a tempest and hailstorm.
squall It looks like there will be a squall this evening.
hail Hail Caesar! Those who are about to die greet you!
cyclone A powerful Scandinavian cyclone is approaching.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
storm		rising
hurricane		rising
tornado		rising
tempest		rising
squall		steady
hail		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: tear¹, rage¹, hail¹, ramp¹, rant¹, gale¹, rave¹, scat¹, fume¹
5 letters: force¹
6 letters: attack², hassle², volley², squall¹, tumult², clamor²
7 letters: assault², tornado³, turmoil², cyclone², tempest², clamour², bluster², besiege²
8 letters: surprise², outbreak²
9 letters: hurricane³, agitation⁴, commotion³
11 letters: disturbance³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (attack² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: tempête