temblor

American  

[tem-bler, -blawr, tem-blawr] / ˈtɛm blər, -blɔr, tɛmˈblɔr /

noun

• temblors,
  plural
• temblores
  plural

1. a tremor; earthquake.

---

temblor British  

/ ˈtɛmblə, -blɔː /

noun

1. an earthquake or earth tremor

---

Usage

What does temblor mean? Temblor is another word for an earthquake or a tremor. A temblor can also be called a trembler or a tremblor. These terms are all less commonly used than earthquake and tremor. The plural of temblor is temblors, but temblores is also sometimes used as a plural (due to the fact that temblor came from Spanish and this is how it is pluralized in Spanish). Example: The temblor that hit the area last month shook the whole city for more than a minute.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• temblores
  plural
• temblors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of temblor

An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; from Spanish: literally, “a quaking,” equivalent to tembl(ar) “to quake” (perhaps ultimately from Latin timēre “to fear” and Late Latin tremulāre “to quake”) + -or noun suffix; see tremble, -or ¹

Compare meaning

How does temblor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• temblor vs. earthquake

Explanation

A temblor is another name for an earthquake. Feeling a temblor shake the ground under your feet can be terrifying, even when it's a fairly small one. The word temblor has been commonly used in American Spanish since the 19th century. It comes from a Spanish word meaning "a trembling." So if you ever have the experience of feeling the ground tremble beneath you or watching the dishes on your kitchen shelf trembling as your whole house shakes, you can describe it as an earthquake or a temblor.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

temblor temblors

"He's always thinking about the house. He keeps saying I should take him to see it," said the 27-year-old whose workplace, a carwash, also fell to pieces in the temblor.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

The temblor sparked several fires, collapsed buildings, damaged bridges -- including part of one pedestrian walkway that collapsed into a river -- and capsized a freight train.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

A 7.2-magnitude quake hit at 5:04 p.m., quickly followed by a 7.5-magnitude temblor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

A north San Diego County resident said rumbling from the temblor lasted about 15 seconds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2026

Flood and drought, temblor and conflagration, boom and panic—each comes in "the day's work," and each alike finds him alert, hopeful, resourceful and unafraid.

From California and the Californians by David Starr Jordan

In Playa Grande, the temblors spared few buildings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

The temblors — with epicenters about 100 miles west of Caracas — were the deadliest to hit Venezuela in almost a century.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

Most earthquake swarms do not result in major temblors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

Small temblors are also common around the Geysers geothermal steam field in California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2025

Think what a hundred years of cactus, sand, and occasional temblors can do to a desert, to say nothing of the playful zephyrs.

From The Treasure Trail A Romance of the Land of Gold and Sunshine by Robert Wesley Amick

Related Words

• earthquake
• upheaval