thunderbolt
4
5.1
- noun
- /ˈθʌndərˌboʊlt/
:
sorpresa
- When she received the unexpected job offer, it felt like a thunderbolt hitting her out of nowhere.
- thunderbolt hit
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a Thunderbolt.
- Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a Thunderbolt.
Examples
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Okay, you know how things come crashing into your consciousness just like a thunderbolt?
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The news of the company's sudden bankruptcy was a thunderbolt that shocked everyone in the office.
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When it came, even the chief of staff had to say, "It was a thunderbolt out of the blue."
Fiction book (2000) -
It's like being hit by a thunderbolt.
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One of them struck our friend like a thunderbolt.
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The news hits the room like a thunderbolt.
Fiction book (2000) -
It hit me like a thunderbolt.
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The intensity of Novak's cries hit Catherine like a thunderbolt.
Fiction book (2000) -
Ali Allawi later wrote that Bremer's arrival "came as a thunderbolt out of the blue to the assembled leaders in Baghdad, and was greeted with indignation by most of the main political figures."
Academic text (2013) -
His announcement was a complete thunderbolt, leaving friends and family in utter disbelief.
Synonyms
738
1.0
An event that happens suddenly and is not expected
64
3.8
A sudden hard movement that shocks or surprises you
56
6.1
A piece of news that is very surprising and shocks people
41
2.1
A sudden violent hit that moves something strongly
22
5.3
An event or piece of news that surprises people very much
4
6.3
A sudden change in life or work that feels unpleasant and hard to handle
2
6.5
A sudden event that shocks people and is not expected
1
6.5
A sudden shocking event or announcement that surprises many people
How Shocking
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Thunderbolt is also used for a sudden and shocking event because a bolt of lightning hits without warning, so a 'thunderbolt' is something that surprises people very suddenly.