Other forms: upheavals
An upheaval is a violent change that turns everything upside down. Political upheaval, social upheaval, a period of upheaval.
It is a geological word by origin, describing land forced upwards, and the figurative sense keeps that force in it. An upheaval is bigger than a change and less directed than a revolution.
1nounupheavalA violent change that turns everything upside down.
“Moving to a new country was a huge upheaval for the whole family.”
upheaval is a change.
From upheave + -al.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA