forked lightning

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noun

a zigzag form of lightningAlso called: chain lightning

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

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effect

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Words nearby forked lightning

forjudge, fork, forkball, forked, forked chain, forked lightning, for keeps, forkful, forklift, fork-lift truck, fork luncheon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use forked lightning in a sentence

Should lightning strike and Hillary Clinton forgoes a presidential run, Democrats have a nominee in waiting.
Sen. Warren’s Main Street Crusade to Pressure Clinton|Eleanor Clift|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Second, Michelle served as a lightning rod in the sense of drawing attacks away from other reform groups.
A Letter of Thanks to Michelle Rhee|Dmitri Mehlhorn|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He made whatever was going on his own, and with such lightning speed you stopped concentrating.
How Mork Melted the Fonz: Henry Winkler Recalls Robin Williams’s Storming ‘Happy Days’ Debut|Tim Teeman|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were flashes of lightning outside and the rumble of thunder.
The Gentle Giant Cut Down by Cops|Michael Daly|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The paper apologized and forked over an undisclosed sum in “damages.”
Hollywood vs. The Daily Mail: George Clooney and Angelina Jolie Take On The UK's Leanest, Meanest Gossip Machine|Lizzie Crocker, Lloyd Grove|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The left heel followed like lightning, and the right paw also slipped, letting the bear again fall heavily on the ice below.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Spite, however, of punishments and prohibitions the use of tobacco spread with the rapidity of lightning.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
There chanced to be a forked tree close at hand, to which the major rushed and scrambled up with amazing rapidity.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne
The next instruments discovered in use among the Indians were straight, hollow reeds and forked canes.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
People used to say that she forked the mine better than two of Boulton and Watt's 80-inch cylinder engines.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick