tempest-tost
Definition
- Adjective:
- Pounded or hit repeatedly by storms or adversities: Describes something or someone that has been violently and repeatedly struck by severe storms or battered by a series of misfortunes and hardships. It conveys a sense of being tossed about and assailed by powerful, uncontrollable forces.
Usage
- This is a literary and somewhat archaic adjective, primarily used in poetic, formal, or descriptive contexts to evoke a powerful image of struggle against overwhelming natural or metaphorical storms.
- It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'was' or 'seemed').
Examples
- Attributive use:
- The tempest-tost ship finally found safe harbor after days at sea.
- He was a tempest-tost soul, seeking peace after a life of turmoil.
- Predicative use:
- For years, their nation was tempest-tost by war and famine.
- The old lighthouse, tempest-tost but still standing, was a symbol of resilience.
Advanced Usage
- The term is famously used in Emma Lazarus's 1883 sonnet "The New Colossus," inscribed on the Statue of Liberty: Here, it metaphorically describes immigrants fleeing hardship and persecution.
Variants and Related Words
- Tempest-tossed: This is a more common modern spelling variant of "tempest-tost." The meaning is identical.
- The tempest-tossed waves crashed against the cliffs.
- Tempest (n): A violent windy storm.
- Storm-tossed (adj): Similar in meaning, describing something violently agitated by storms.
Synonyms
- Storm-tossed: Agitated or battered by storms.
- Battered: Beaten repeatedly and violently.
- Beleaguered: Experiencing a lot of difficulties or criticism.
- Buffeted: Struck repeatedly, as by winds or adversities.
Notes on Meaning
- The core meaning is literal—physically battered by a storm (a tempest).
- Its more common and powerful use is metaphorical, describing a person, group, or thing that has endured prolonged and severe difficulties, crises, or emotional turmoil.
Adjective
-
pounded or hit repeatedly by storms or adversities
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ tương tự
Từ gần giống
