Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Turbulence \Tur"bu*lence\, n. [L. turbulentia: cf. F.
   turbulebce.]
   The quality or state of being turbulent; a disturbed state;
   tumult; disorder; agitation. --Shak.

         The years of . . . warfare and turbulence which ensued.
                                                  --Southey.

   Syn: Agitation; commotion; tumult; tumultuousness;
        termagance; unruliness; insubordination; rioting.

Source : WordNet®

turbulence
     n 1: unstable flow of a liquid or gas [syn: {turbulency}]
     2: instability in the atmosphere
     3: a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics
        or social conditions generally); "the industrial
        revolution was a period of great turbulence" [syn: {upheaval},
         {Sturm und Drang}]