Adjacent Words

Thunderbolt definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THUN'DERBOLT, n. [thunder and bolt.]
1. A shaft of lightning; a brilliant stream of the electrical fluid, passing from one part of the heavens to another, and particularly from the clouds to the earth. Psalms 78.
2. Figuratively, a daring or irresistible hero; as the Scipios, those thunderbolts of war.
3. Fulmination; ecclesiastical denunciation.
He severely threatens such with the thunderbolt of excommunication.
4. In mineralogy, thunder-stone.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder [syn: thunderbolt, bolt, bolt of lightning]
2: a shocking surprise; "news of the attack came like a bombshell" [syn: bombshell, thunderbolt, thunderclap]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 15th century 1. a. a single discharge of lightning with the accompanying thunder b. an imaginary elongated mass cast as a missile to earth in the lightning flash 2. a. a person or thing that resembles lightning in suddenness, effectiveness, or destructive power b. a vehement threat or censure

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a flash of lightning with a simultaneous crash of thunder. b a stone etc. imagined to be a destructive bolt. 2 a sudden or unexpected occurrence or item of news. 3 a supposed bolt or shaft as a destructive agent, esp. as an attribute of a god.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thunderbolt Thun"der*bolt`, n. 1. A shaft of lightning; a brilliant stream of electricity passing from one part of the heavens to another, or from the clouds to the earth. 2. Something resembling lightning in suddenness and effectiveness. The Scipios' worth, those thunderbolts of war. --Dryden. 3. Vehement threatening or censure; especially, ecclesiastical denunciation; fulmination. He severely threatens such with the thunderbolt of excommunication. --Hakewill. 4. (Paleon.) A belemnite, or thunderstone. Thunderbolt beetle (Zo["o]l.), a long-horned beetle (Arhopalus fulminans) whose larva bores in the trunk of oak and chestnut trees. It is brownish and bluish-black, with W-shaped whitish or silvery markings on the elytra.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(thunderbolts) A thunderbolt is a flash of lightning, accompanied by thunder, which strikes something such as a building or a tree. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Lightning-flash. 2. Fulmination, denunciation. 3. (Geol.) Thunder-stone, belemnite.

Moby Thesaurus

Jupiter Fulgur, Thor, antelope, arrow, astonishment, ball lightning, blockbuster, blow, blue darter, blue streak, bolt, bolt of lightning, bomb, bombshell, cannonball, catch, chain lightning, courser, dark lightning, dart, eagle, earthshaker, electricity, express train, eye-opener, fireball, firebolt, flash, flying flame, forked lightning, fulguration, fulmination, gazelle, greased lightning, greyhound, hare, jet plane, joker, kicker, levin bolt, light, lightning, mercury, oak-cleaving thunderbolts, peripeteia, quicksilver, revelation, rocket, scared rabbit, sheet lightning, shocker, shot, staggerer, startler, streak, streak of lightning, striped snake, stroke of lightning, surprisal, surprise, surprise ending, surprise package, surprise party, swallow, switch, thought, thunderball, thunderclap, thunderstroke, torrent, wind