reverse lightning

American  

noun

1. a bright flash of light in the atmosphere caused by an electrical discharge that travels from the ground to a cloud.

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reverse lightning Scientific  

1. A flash of light in the sky caused by an electrical discharge from the Earth's surface to a cloud. Reverse lightning is so called because lightning typically occurs between clouds or travels from a cloud to the Earth's surface.

2. Also called return stroke

3. See note at lightning

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Example Sentences

In his many careers — activist, journalist, playwright, novelist, curmudgeon — he had served as a kind of reverse lightning rod, drawing out homophobia from American society to light up the sky with danger.

From New York Times • May 27, 2020