thunderbolt

American  

[thuhn-der-bohlt] / ˈθʌn dərˌboʊlt /

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 British  

/ 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

---

Etymology

Origin of thunderbolt

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

Example Sentences

The attack fell like a thunderbolt on the country’s tightly knit Jewish community.

From The Wall Street Journal

That’s why the revision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of its advisory on vaccines and autism struck like a thunderbolt, and not in a good way.

From Los Angeles Times

True to his word, he was best when fresh, slipping straight back into bowling thunderbolts.

From BBC

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

From Literature

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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