Phrase guide

Sturm und Drang

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʃtɜːm ʊnt ˈdræŋ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʃtʊəm-/
  • General-American: /ˈʃtɝm ʊnt ˈdræŋ/
  • General-American: /ˈʃtʊɚm ʊnt ˈdrɑŋ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music which occurred from the late 1760s to the early 1780s, emphasizing individual subjectivity and the free expression of emotions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, literature, media, music, publishing, theater

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Turmoil; a period of emotional intensity and anxiety.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the industrial revolution was a period of great turbulence

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: turbulence, upheaval

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: disorder

Narrower terms: agitation, ferment, fermentation, tempestuousness, unrest, roller coaster, violence

History

Etymology

Borrowed from German Sturm und Drang with the same figurative meaning, from Sturm (“storm”) + und (“and”) + Drang (“pressure, stress; urge, impulse, longing”). The phrase is the title of the play Sturm und Drang (1776) by German dramatist Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger (1752–1831). The fact that the phrase is often italicized suggests it has not been fully assimilated into English.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 狂飆突進運動 /狂飙突进运动 (kuángbiāo tūjìn yùndòng) — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Japanese: シュトゥルム・ウント・ドラング (Shuturumu unto Dorangu) — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Japanese: 疾風怒涛 (shippū dotō) — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Korean: 슈투름 운트 드랑 (syutureum unteu deurang) — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Korean: 질풍노도 (jilpungnodo) — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Portuguese: Sturm und Drang — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Vietnamese: bão táp và xung kích — a proto-Romantic movement from the late 1760s to the early 1780s in German literature and music
  • Japanese: 疾風怒涛 (shippū dotō) — turmoil
  • Polish: okres burzy i naporu — turmoil