thunderbolt

Plural: thunderbolts

Noun

• a discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder
• a shocking surprise
• A flash of lightning accompanied by a crash of thunder.
• An event that is terrible, horrific or unexpected.
• Vehement threatening or censure; especially, ecclesiastical denunciation; fulmination.
• A very powerful shot.
• A belemnite, or thunderstone.
• A charge in the form of two joined bundles with four rays of lightning emerging from them, resembling the thunderbolt of Jupiter.
• A daring or irresistible hero.

Verb

• To strike with a thunderbolt.
• To move swiftly and violently.

Examples

• News of the actress’s death came as a thunderbolt to her fans.

Synonyms

bolt, bolt of lightning, bombshell, thunderclap

Related Words

lightning bolt, thunderclap, thunderstroke