turbulence
tur·bu·lens/ˈtɝ.bjə.ləns/noun
turbulence is spelled T-U-R-B-U-L-E-N-C-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables (tur·bu·lens). It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, turbulence means “The state or fact of being turbulent or agitated; tempestuousness, disturbance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of turbulence is turbulences.
How many letters and syllables are in turbulence?
| Letters | 10: T-U-R-B-U-L-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: tur·bu·lens |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is turbulence?
Turbulence appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce turbulence?
- UK /ˈtɜː.bjə.ləns/
- US /ˈtɝ.bjə.ləns/
Turbulence has 3 syllables, split tur·bu·lens in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-turbulence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of turbulence
- turbulences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does turbulence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state or fact of being turbulent or agitated; tempestuousness, disturbance.
- 2
Disturbance in a gas or fluid, characterized by evidence of internal motion or unrest.
- 3
Specifically, a state of agitation or disturbance in the air which is disruptive to an aircraft.
- 4
An instance or type of such state or disturbance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Turbulence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disturbance in gas, fluid:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | turbulence |
| German | Turbulenz |
| Portuguese | turbulência |
| Spanish | turbulencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does turbulence come from?
From Middle English turbulence (“turbidity, cloudiness”), from Late Latin turbulentia (“trouble, disquiet”). By surface analysis, turbulent + -ence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).