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thunderous

thunderous

1 4.8
A very serious and powerful event or feeling that makes people feel afraid
  • adjective
  • /ˈθʌndərəs/
translation icon : tronante
  • The politicians are frozen by Pulitzer's thunderous assault.
  • thunderous voice
  • thunderous silence
  • dark and thunderous

Examples

  • "Excellent," Mikelis said, and even FitzGilbert looked a little less thunderous.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • It is here that the tide of chaos was broken with a thunderous hammer blow.

  • If student action has been dramatic in the United States, its impact has been thunderous in Europe.

  • The sound of the sea behind is thunderous.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Finally, Annie could bear the thunderous tension no longer.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • A long interval elapsed during which neither of us spoke, and the sound of the crickets was thunderous.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The silence was thunderous.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The funeral dirges of all sorts were uttered in a thunderous, heart-melting outcry.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • As for Dom Nicolau, he had huddled down in his chair, frightened by the thunderous verbosity of the tiny physicist and the delicacy of the situation.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The thunderous applause from the audience filled the concert hall.

Synonyms

booming
vsthunderous
3 3.4

A deep loud voice or sound that echoes

is more about ominous power and seriousness than just loud sound
thundering
vsthunderous
5.3

Something that is very powerful and makes people notice

is more ominous and serious rather than only intense

Antonyms

104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

Not causing fear and looking harmless

How Ominous

thunderous
1 4.8
portentous
  • Formal
4 8.6
ominous
96 6.4
worrying
6 2.0

Surface Forms

thunderous positive
thunderouser comparative
thunderousest superlative

Morphology

thunderous = thunder (semi-transparent) = thunder + ous

The sense is a figurative extension (ominous, powerful) from the literal qualities of thunder; the morphological relation is clear but the exact nuance is metaphorical.

Etymology

Thunderous also takes its picture from thunder as a sign of a coming storm, so it can mean something 'very powerful' or 'ominous' that feels serious and overwhelming.