groundswell

See also: ground swell

English

Alternative forms

• ground swell

Etymology

ground +‎ swell

Noun

groundswell (plural groundswells)

1. (nautical) A broad undulation of the open ocean, often as the result of a distant disturbance.
2. (by extension) A broadly-based shifting of public opinion
   • 2020 July 29, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Railways that reach out over the waves”, in Rail, page 51:

     The 1987 book British Piers was written at a time when Britain's seaside resorts were perhaps at their lowest ebb, with a groundswell of support for rejuvenation and conservation just beginning.

   • 2022 April 1, Anton Troianovski, Ivan Nechepurenko, Valeriya Safronova, “Shaken at First, Many Russians Now Rally Behind Putin’s Invasion”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The public’s endorsement of the war lacks the patriotic groundswell that greeted the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Translations

nautical sense

• Bulgarian: мъртво вълнение n (mǎrtvo vǎlnenie)
• Finnish: perusmaininki; groundswell (surfers' slang)
• French: lame de fond (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: múisceán m
• Russian: нака́т (ru) m (nakát)