groundswells

Deep ocean swells

Groundswells is the plural of groundswell.

A groundswell is a broad, deep movement of the ocean caused by distant storms or earthquakes—waves that travel far from their source.

The figurative sense dominates: a groundswell is a surge of public feeling or support that builds from ordinary people rather than leaders: a groundswell of opposition to the policy, groundswells of enthusiasm for the candidate.

latent

undercurrent

Flow beneath the surface

underlyingExisting beneath the surface
brewingBeverage preparation process
buildingEnclosed roofed structure

stirring · nascent · emerging · simmering · mounting · growing · rising · swelling · gathering · percolating

movement

surge

Sudden powerful increase

momentumProduct of mass, velocity
uprisingOrganized resistance to power
mobilizationOrganizing for action

grassroots · populist · movement · wave · tide · awakening · outcry · fervor · discontent · activism

oceanic

swells

Enlarges or billows

wavesTraveling energy disturbances
surgesAbrupt powerful rises
tidesPeriodic sea-level changes

breakers · offshore · deepwater · fetch · wavelength · amplitude · rolling · cresting · ocean · seafloor

surfing

swells

Enlarges or billows

wavesTraveling energy disturbances
lineupOrdered list of participants
barrelHooped cylindrical vessel

sets · paddle · offshore · forecast · pumping · stoked · epic · surfboard · glassy · clean

Opposites

wave type/origin

groundswellschop

Quick forceful slice

whitecaps · ripples · surface waves · cat's paws · wavelets

social/political movement metaphor

groundswellsmanufactured consent

Opinion shaped by power

propaganda campaigns · backroom deals · spin

magnitude of collective change

groundswellsapathy

Absence of feeling

indifference · stagnation · inertia · complacency · quiescence

Family

groundswell

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G