torrent

[tawr-uhnt, tor-]

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noun

a stream of water flowing with great rapidity and violence.
a rushing, violent, or abundant and unceasing stream of anything: a torrent of lava.
a violent downpour of rain.

a violent, tumultuous, or overwhelming flow: a torrent of abuse.

adjective

torrential.

Origin of torrent

1595–1605; < Latin torrent- (stem of torrēns) seething, literally, burning, present participle of torrēre to burn, parch; see torrid, -ent

Synonyms for torrent

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4. outburst, deluge, flood, spate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for torrent

stream, downpour, cascade, deluge, spate, tide, flood, waterfall, outburst, effusion, rush, inundation, cloudburst, shower, flux, cataclysm, gush, overflow, flooding, cataract

Examples from the Web for torrent

Contemporary Examples of torrent

Backup dancers materialize, sparking a torrent of eye-catching choreography.
The Making of Kiesza: From Navy Sharpshooter to Beauty Queen to Pop Diva
Marlow Stern
October 20, 2014
The cascade of same-sex marriage rulings is now a torrent, each more quotable and image-ready than the last.
Pennsylvania. Oregon. Is Gay Marriage Unstoppable?
Jay Michaelson
May 20, 2014
The second cultural strain revealed itself in a torrent of abuse on Twitter and other forums.
Miss America, Meet India’s ‘Dark’ Side
Tunku Varadarajan
September 17, 2013
In response, Alexeyev unleashed a torrent of anti-Semitic abuse.
Nikolai Alexeyev’s Fall From Gay Rights Leader to Anti-Semite
James Kirchick
September 5, 2013
And as usual, Dermer levels his accusations with a torrent of intellectual self-regard and little actual evidence.
Reading Israel's New U.S. Ambassador
Peter Beinart
July 10, 2013

Historical Examples of torrent

Let us rejoice that one such partisan was now at hand to stem the torrent of abuse.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
After that, in a torrent, came Harriet's declaration of independence.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Kavirondo, his eyes rolling, shot forth a torrent of language.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
But are you voluble enough to drown all sense in a torrent of words?
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
It all poured out of him in a torrent, his hand on my knee most of the time.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith

British Dictionary definitions for torrent

torrent

noun

a fast, voluminous, or violent stream of water or other liquid
an overwhelming flow of thoughts, words, sound, etc
computing a file that controls the transfer of data in a BitTorrent systemSee BitTorrent

adjective

rare like or relating to a torrent

Word Origin for torrent

C17: from French, from Latin torrēns (noun), from torrēns (adjective) burning, from torrēre to burn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for torrent

c.1600, from French torrent, from Latin torrentem (nominative torrens) "rushing stream," originally "roaring, boiling, burning, parching," present participle of torrere "to parch" (see terrain). Sense of "any onrush" (of words, feelings, etc.) first recorded 1640s.