Furores

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Intense public excitement or enthusiasm often surrounding events or personalities ; a sudden outbreak of strong emotions or actions affecting groups of people ; widespread popularity or frenzy generated typically by media or social phenomena
2. Situations characterized by emotional agitation or fervor that captivate attention ; collective displays of passion or zeal causing social disturbances ; periods of heightened public interest and emotional response to particular happenings
3. Episodes marked by overwhelming excitement and emotional turmoil that sweep through communities ; waves of collective enthusiasm or indignation influencing behavior ; bursts of intense social or cultural energy that provoke strong reactions from many individuals

Etymology: "Furores" is the plural of "furore", which English borrowed from Italian, where "furore" means a rage or uproar. The Italian word in turn comes from the Latin "furor", meaning madness or frenzy, a noun tied to the verb "furere", to rage. English already had its own version of this word in "furor", so "furore" and "furor" are doublets: two forms of one Latin source that reached English by different routes. The English plural "furores" is the form most often used when speaking of several separate outbursts of public excitement, as in a series of controversies that each stirred crowds or newspapers. The Latin-derived "furor" keeps the plural "furors" in English, but the Italian-influenced "furore" is what gives the pluralized "furores" its more theatrical sound.

Synonyms: uproars, hysteria, fevers, manias, frenzies

Antonyms: calm, tranquility