torrential
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to a torrent
-
pouring or flowing fast, violently, or heavily
torrential rain
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abundant, overwhelming, or irrepressible
torrential abuse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of torrential
Explanation
If it's raining extremely hard, then the rain is torrential — it's absolutely pouring. Use torrential to describe something that's happening in torrents, or turbulent flowing streams. When there's a torrential storm, there's so much rain falling so fast that you'll be soaked in about three seconds. If a basketball team's offense just keeps coming and won't stop, you could call it a torrential attack. And if you take your sister's shoes without asking, she might shower you with a torrential tongue-lashing.
Vocabulary lists containing torrential
I Am Malala
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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.
Torrential storms that have triggered flash floods in Kenya have killed at least 81 people this month, authorities said Sunday, as rain continued to pound much of the country.
From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026
Torrential rains have unleashed widespread flooding across East Africa in recent days.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
Torrential rain in New Zealand’s North Island saturated soil around the campground in Mount Maunganui where families typically stay during the school holiday period.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
Torrential monsoon season deluges paired with two separate tropical cyclones last week dumped heavy rain across all of Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia's Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
Torrential rains and floods, such as those following hurricanes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States, bring out quantities of snakes of all species.
From Natural History of Cottonmouth Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscovorus (Reptilia) by Burkett, Ray D.
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.
