torrential

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
We are confronted by the paradox of an artist as torrential, as apocalyptic as Rubens and Wagner, carving with a style wholly charming a segment of a baby's back so that you exclaim, "Donatello come to life!"

View all »
Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Resembling, flowing in, or forming torrents: torrential mountain streams; a torrential downpour.
  2. adjective Resulting from the action of fast-flowing streams: torrential erosion.
  3. adjective Flowing or surging abundantly; wild: torrential applause.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • She gasped as a torrential whirlwind of energy coursed out to envelop the winged army. —  Witch War
  • The Weather Control Complex found itself in the position of having to rob Peter to pay Paul—moisture diverted to one needy section of the Earth left other sections either twice as arid or drowned in torrential, flooding rains that caused widespread damage. —  Dickson, Gordon - Childe Cycle 02 Necromancer
  • Stuart Shepard of Focus on the Family, led by James Dobson, one of America's leading evangelical groups, was shown in a video filmed at Denver's Invesco Field, where 75,000 are expected to cheer Mr Obama on Aug 28, asking Christians to pray for "torrential" rain. —  CNN Political Ticker
  • In torrential rain, Arrukban visited displaced residents in the Abed Rabbo area of Jabaliya. “I am afraid to re-build my home again, †Henan Salah, a 40-year-old mother, said. —  IRIN
  • Here in New York, where the torrential rain that has deluged us all week is expected to continue throughout the weekend, I don't need an excuse to stay indoors all weekend. —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
 

Tags

torrential hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 43 times.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. =F. torrentiel =Spanish torrencial; as torrent + -i-al.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/tɑˈrɛnʃəl/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word several times a year.

Recently looked up

waterfalls · espionage · Objective · Doubtfire · fluticasone

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

Glockenspiel · Ersatz · Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid · Haifischschwanzflossenfleischsuppe · Der Kottbusser Postkutscher putzt den Kottbusser Postkutschkasten