Upsurge

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A significant and rapid increase in intensity or quantity indicates a pronounced rise in a particular area
2. An abrupt and noteworthy growth or escalation in a certain aspect denotes an unexpected advancement
3. A rapid and noticeable escalation in amount or strength

Etymology: "Upsurge" is a plain compound: the prefix "up-" joined to "surge." The "up" traces back through Old English "up" to a Proto-Germanic root that also gave modern German "auf," so the directional sense of rising is very old in the language. "Surge" is the word doing the real work. It comes into English from Old French "sourdre" and ultimately Latin "surgere," meaning "to rise," a verb of the same family as "resurrect" and "insurgent." Put together, "upsurge" simply doubles the idea of rising, so the word is less a new coinage than an emphatic restatement of what "surge" already says. Its meaning is a sudden sharp increase, and the image behind it is still the upward movement of a wave or a crowd rising all at once.

Synonyms: increase, rise, surge, growth, escalation

Antonyms: decline, decrease, drop, fall, diminution