temblor
Americannoun
plural
temblors,plural
tembloresnoun
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.
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:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing temblor
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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.
A north San Diego County resident said rumbling from the temblor lasted about 15 seconds.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 19, 2026
The 3.1 temblor was at a depth of 1.4 miles, and the 3.4 quake was at a depth of 2.3 miles.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2025
Scientists believe that the magnitude 6.1 Joshua Tree temblor of April 22, 1992 resulted in aftershocks that kept migrating north.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025
The magnitude 3.5 temblor followed at 3:41 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2025
We fancied something"— "Something! he says something!—ah, that something was a temblor!
From The Crusade of the Excelsior by Harte, Bret
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.
