thunderbolt

[ thuhn-der-bohlt ]

/ ˈθʌn dərˌboʊlt /

a flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder.

an imaginary bolt or dart conceived as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning: the thunderbolts of Jove.

something very destructive, terrible, severe, sudden, or startling.

a person who acts with fury or with sudden and irresistible force.

Origin of thunderbolt

First recorded in 1400–50, thunderbolt is from the late Middle English word thondre bolte. See thunder, bolt¹

But as high school came to a close, her father made an announcement that hit Nashwa like a thunderbolt.

How One Young Woman Escaped Childhood Abuse and a Forced Marriage |Moral Courage |October 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

Crushing Christmas: How to Win Every Argument |Kelly Williams Brown |December 24, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
It played in the background while God made love to the thunderbolt that birthed Tom Brady.

Seven Best Rap Songs About Moms for Mother’s Day (VIDEO) |Kevin Fallon |May 12, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
If Saraswati was a god in the eyes of his followers, then the threat of karmic retribution was his thunderbolt.

The Fugitive Guru |Ben Crair |June 21, 2011 |DAILY BEAST

And I think the next one, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, was kind of like that too.

Jeff Bridges' Crazy Oscar Bid |Caryn James |December 12, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
These words struck like a thunderbolt upon the poor old man.

Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China |Evariste Regis Huc
Thunderbolt stood on his hind legs and pawed deliberately at the heavens.

Boy Woodburn |Alfred Ollivant
The Alps have the avalanche, “the thunderbolt of snow,” and the glaciers, those icy Niagaras so beautiful and grand.

With the World's Great Travellers, Volume 2 |Various
Time after time she came down upon them from a point high in the air, like a thunderbolt, but never seemed to touch them.

The Wit of a Duck and Other Papers |John Burroughs
Just at seven bells, in one moment like a thunderbolt from the sky, a heavy squall struck the ship.

Hard Cash |Charles Reade

thunderbolt

/ (ˈθʌndəˌbəʊlt) /

a flash of lightning accompanying thunder

the imagined agency of destruction produced by a flash of lightning

(in mythology) the destructive weapon wielded by several gods, esp the Greek god Zeus See also Thor

something very startling