torrential
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to a torrent
-
pouring or flowing fast, violently, or heavily
torrential rain
-
abundant, overwhelming, or irrepressible
torrential abuse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of torrential
Explanation
If it's raining extremely hard, then the rain is torrential — it's absolutely pouring. Use torrential to describe something that's happening in torrents, or turbulent flowing streams. When there's a torrential storm, there's so much rain falling so fast that you'll be soaked in about three seconds. If a basketball team's offense just keeps coming and won't stop, you could call it a torrential attack. And if you take your sister's shoes without asking, she might shower you with a torrential tongue-lashing.
Vocabulary lists containing torrential
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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.
Even so, the hurricane brought torrential rainfall and flooding to coastal communities, including the port city of Manzanillo.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Even if it doesn’t result in torrential rain, El Niño can wreak havoc on the coastline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The first of three novels in Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy, it seemed, with its torrential power, to come out of nowhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
North-eastern Spain has been hit by torrential rain and flash floods, leaving one person dead and causing widespread disruption across the region.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The family watched footage of enormous waves, uprooted trees, whole towns washed grey with torrential rain.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
