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tourbillon — meaning in English

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English meaning

  • eddy noun A swirl of water or air that spins in the opposite direction to the main flow around it.
  • maelstrom noun A large, violent whirlpool.
  • swirl verb To move in a twisting, circular pattern.
  • vortex noun A spinning mass of air, water, or other matter that pulls things toward its centre, such as a whirlpool or whirlwind.
  • whirlpool noun A powerful, swirling current of water that pulls objects toward its centre.
  • whirlwind noun A small, rapidly rotating column of air, such as a dust devil or small tornado.

Senses

tourbillon is used for these senses in English:

  • eddy A circular current; a whirlpool.
  • maelstrom A large and violent whirlpool.
  • swirl A whirling eddy.
  • vortex A whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column.
  • whirlpool A swirling body of water.
  • whirlwind A windstorm of limited extent, such as a tornado, dust devil, or waterspout, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air.

eddy — full definition

  1. noun A swirl of water or air that spins in the opposite direction to the main flow around it.
  2. verb To swirl or circle back on itself, the way water or air does around an obstacle.

maelstrom — full definition

  1. noun A large, violent whirlpool.
  2. noun A chaotic, turbulent, or overwhelming situation.

Related French words