foudroyant
Americanadjective
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striking as with lightning; sudden and overwhelming in effect; stunning; dazzling.
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Pathology. (of disease) beginning in a sudden and severe form.
adjective
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(of a disease) occurring suddenly and with great severity
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rare stunning, dazzling, or overwhelming
Etymology
Origin of foudroyant
1830–40; < French, present participle of foudroyer to strike with lightning, derivative of foudre lightning < Latin fulgur
Explanation
A beautiful gown, a thunderous musical performance, a shocking piece of news, or a deadly disease could all be described as foudroyant, meaning sudden, shocking, and intense. Foudroyant is a French loanword coming from the word foudre, meaning "lightning." In French it can mean "rapid" or "devastating," but in English, something foudroyant is so dazzling or stunning that it's overwhelming in the way that a crash of thunder or bolt of lightning would be. It has a special meaning in medicine: it describes forms of diseases that attack very quickly and very severely.
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.
Yet style and manner are not the only reasons for the mayor's foudroyant success.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
