fulminant

[fuhl-muh-nuhnt]

adjective

1. occurring suddenly and with great intensity or severity; fulminating.

2. Pathology.,  developing or progressing suddenly.

   fulminant plague.

ˈfulminant

/ ˈfʌlmɪnənt, ˈfʊl- /

adjective

1. sudden and violent; fulminating

2. pathol (of pain) sudden and sharp; piercing

Other Word Forms

• unfulminant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fulminant¹

1595–1605; < Latin fulminant- (stem of fulmināns ), present participle of fulmināre to fulminate; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of fulminant¹

C17: from Latin fulmināre to cause lightning, from fulmen lightning that strikes

Example Sentences

The family took Juliet to a nearby hospital, where they were told that she was experiencing an acute form of heart inflammation called fulminant myocarditis.

Read more on New York Times

According to the World Health Organization, a small proportion of people infected with the virus could die from fulminant hepatitis.

Read more on Seattle Times

My personal pleasure required the most physical practical sequencing: fulminant jazz, call it—without, incidentally, the kitsch of musical accompaniment.

Read more on The New Yorker

The all-nighter had tipped him into a burst of fulminant mania.

Read more on The New Yorker

For people who have a particularly fulminant form of the disease, the window can close pretty quickly.

Read more on National Geographic

Related Words

• fiery 
• frenzied 
• hazardous 
• meteoric 
• stormy 
• tense 
• touchy 
• ugly 
• uncontrollable 
• unstable 
• violent