tidal wave
4
3.6
- noun
- /ˈtaɪdəl weɪv/
:
oleada
- And over time, it just turns into a daily tidal wave of inbound requests.
- a tidal wave of publicity
So there wasn't this like tidal wave of, of content to deal with.
- So there wasn't this like tidal wave of, of content to deal with.
- But I have to surf through an entire tidal wave of junk of nonsense.
- We found this whole new tidal wave of real love and appreciation for the bear.
- Dark mode has swept over the Internet like a dark grey tidal wave with hints of dark blue.
- And then boom, the grief comes at you again like a tidal wave.
- Believe ours Technical called it a tidal wave of racist memes on Reddit, Facebook and beyond.
- Like I don't have any interest in fighting tidal waves.
- Many men who got sucked up into the tidal wave of Me Too were just wars.
- And it's it's really a desperate attempt to try to stave off this tidal wave.
- But then once in a lifetime, the long for tidal wave of justice can rise up and hope and history rhyme.
Examples
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The announcement created a tidal wave of excitement among the fans.
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But then once in a lifetime, the long for tidal wave of justice can rise up and hope and history rhyme.
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We found this whole new tidal wave of real love and appreciation for the bear.
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Align it with what you want and it creates A tidal wave that makes it happen.
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Despite my warning, their noise level began slowly but rose to a tidal wave as soon as they hit the hallway.
Fiction book (2002) -
A tidal wave of panic washed over me.
Fiction book (2000) -
Then a tidal wave of heat smashed against the ridge, bowling him over.
Fiction book (1999) -
She felt the tidal wave of Romney love, and like her partners in crime, they just felt the electoral college flowing over to the right.
Blog text (14) -
A tidal wave of rage swelled in my chest, rushing up into my brain, swamping my fear.
Fiction book (2001) -
A tidal wave of weapons has provided protagonists in poorer countries with the means to wage wars that are fracturing their societies.
Academic text (1996)
Synonyms
336
3.8
A period when something increases suddenly and affects many people, for example very hot weather
87
4.9
A very large sea wave caused by an earthquake that can flood land
35
6.8
A large fast stream of questions, messages or criticism sent to someone
33
4.0
A sudden strong wave of air and energy that moves away from an explosion or impact
1
3.6
A sudden strong feeling that is hard to control
A sudden large wave of comments from many people that follows an event
How Overwhelming
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a sudden and overwhelming surge' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'tidal' (relating to large periodic sea movements) with 'wave' (a swell or surge), so the compound evokes a large sea-like surge applied metaphorically to emotions or events. This compositional metaphor is common cross-linguistically (e.g. 'wave of emotion') and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Tidal wave uses the image of a huge sea wave: a strong wave coming with the tide and sweeping everything away, so people use it for 'a sudden and overwhelming surge' of feelings, events, or things.