thunderbolt

[thuhn-der-bohlt]

noun

1. a flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder.

2. an imaginary bolt or dart conceived as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning.

   the thunderbolts of Jove.

3. something very destructive, terrible, severe, sudden, or startling.

4. a person who acts with fury or with sudden and irresistible force.

thunderbolt

/ ˈθʌndəˌbəʊlt /

noun

1. a flash of lightning accompanying thunder

2. the imagined agency of destruction produced by a flash of lightning

3. (in mythology) the destructive weapon wielded by several gods, esp the Greek god Zeus See also Thor

4. something very startling

Word History and Origins

Origin of thunderbolt¹

First recorded in 1400–50, thunderbolt is from late Middle English thondre bolte. See thunder, bolt ¹

Example Sentences

Once more Penelope dropped her books, for the solution had just hit her like a thunderbolt.

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While sticking Cillo into a varsity game would attract a thunderbolt of attention, Clark has been waiting for an appropriate moment.

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Across the floor and walls sprawl grand mosaics and sculptures depicting lions, piles of gold, thunderbolts and ancient Roman gods.

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The same familiar blue and gold thunderbolt greeted Mike Williams as he drove through the welcoming Southern California streets.

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The reaction resembles the thunderbolt that struck the U.S. aerospace community — and the government — in 1957, when the Soviet Union placed Sputnik in orbit while American rockets were still blowing up on their launchpads.

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Related Words

• amazement 
• astonishment 
• awe 
• bewilderment 
• consternation 
• curiosity 
• disappointment 
• jolt 
• miracle 
• revelation 
• shock 
• wonder