thunderous

English

WOTD – 07 November 2011

Etymology

From thunder +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈθʌn.də.ɹəs/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈθʌn.dɚ.əs/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈθan.də.ɹəs/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

Adjective

thunderous (comparative more thunderous, superlative most thunderous)

1. Very loud; that sounds like thunder; thundersome. Also in metaphorical expressions, signifying fury.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     But when the moon rose and the breeze awakened, and the sedges stirred, and the cat's-paws raced across the moonlit ponds, and the far surf off Wonder Head intoned the hymn of the four winds, the trinity, earth and sky and water, became one thunderous symphony—a harmony of sound and colour silvered to a monochrome by the moon.

   • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 85:

     He inflated his chest, twirled his moustache, and thumped the table with a revulsion to thunderous indignation.

   • 1932, Frank Richards, “The Complete Outsider”, in The Magnet:

     Mr Quelch, with a thunderous brow, marched on.

   • 2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:

     After the hour mark, events in Manchester were almost becoming a distraction such was the thunderous cheer from the United fans to greet QPR taking their unlikely lead against City.

Derived terms

• thunderously

Translations

very loud; suggestive of thunder

• Bulgarian: гърмящ (bg) (gǎrmjašt), оглушителен (bg) (oglušitelen), буреносен (burenosen)
• Esperanto: tondra
• Finnish: jyrisevä (fi)
• French: tonitruant (fr)
• German: donnernd (de)
• Italian: tonitruante (it), tonante (it)
• Korean: 우레 같은 (ure gateun)
• Latin: tonitrālis
• Russian: громовой (ru) (gromovoj), оглушительный (ru) (oglušitelʹnyj), грозовой (ru) (grozovoj), предвещающий грозу (predveščajuščij grozu)
• Spanish: atronador (es) m, tonante (es), ^{(please verify)} tonitronante, tronitoso m, estruendoso (es) m, ^{(please verify)} tronitonante, ^{(please verify)} tonitruante