temblor
Americannoun
plural
temblors,plural
tembloresnoun
Usage
What does temblor mean? Temblor is another word for an earthquake or a tremor.A temblor can also be called a trembler or a tremblor. These terms are all less commonly used than earthquake and tremor.The plural of temblor is temblors, but temblores is also sometimes used as a plural (due to the fact that temblor came from Spanish and this is how it is pluralized in Spanish).Example: The temblor that hit the area last month shook the whole city for more than a minute.
Etymology
Origin of temblor
An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; from Spanish: literally, “a quaking,” equivalent to tembl(ar) “to quake” (perhaps ultimately from Latin timēre “to fear” and Late Latin tremulāre “to quake”) + -or noun suffix; tremble, -or 1
Compare meaning
How does temblor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is true that after every earthquake, there’s a 1-in-20 chance it’ll be followed by a larger magnitude temblor.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
The 3.1 temblor was at a depth of 1.4 miles, and the 3.4 quake was at a depth of 2.3 miles.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2025
Monday evening’s earthquake was the second temblor of magnitude 3 or greater to occur near the San Andreas Fault on Friday.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2025
That was followed by a 3.5 magnitude quake in Ontario and a 3.7 temblor in Lytle Creek.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
"Sobrevino vn tan gran Terremoto, con temblor, i tempestad de Agua, i Relampagos, i Raios, i grandes Truenos, que abriendose la Tierra por muchas partes, se hundieron quinientas Casas."
From History of the Conquest of Peru; with a preliminary view of the civilization of the Incas by Prescott, William Hickling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
