What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Cloudburst vs Thunder - What's the difference?

cloudburst | thunder |

As nouns the difference between cloudburst and thunder

is that cloudburst is a sudden heavy rainstorm while thunder is hoof.

cloudburst

Alternative forms

* cloud-burst

Noun

(en noun)
  • A sudden heavy rainstorm.
  • * 1899 , , "A Cup of Cold Water" in The Greater Inclination :
  • [B]ut the sound . . . expressed an utter abandonment to grief; not the cloud-burst of some passing emotion, but the slow down-pour of a whole heaven of sorrow.
  • * 1908 , , The Riverman , ch. 38:
  • A cloudburst in the China Creek district followed by continued heavy rains was responsible for the increased water.
  • * 1936 Aug. 17, " Miscellany," Time (retrieved 20 May 2014):
  • In Uniontown, Pa., John Walchesky & family rushed from their house when lightning set it afire, rushed in again when a cloudburst put out the blaze.
  • * 2007 Feb. 25, , " Devotion'', chapter 1" (book excerpt), ''New York Times (retrieved 20 May 2014):
  • [H]e walked across the lawn, wet from a fleeting late-afternoon cloudburst , the first rain in a month.

    Synonyms

    * cloudbust

    thunder

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia thunder)
  • The sound caused by the discharge of atmospheric electrical charge.
  • Thunder ''is preceded by lightning.
  • A sound resembling thunder; especially, one produced by a jet airplane in flight.
  • A deep, rumbling noise.
  • Off in the distance, he heard the thunder of hoofbeats, signalling a stampede.
  • An alarming or startling threat or denunciation.
  • * Prescott
  • The thunders of the Vatican could no longer strike into the heart of princes.
  • (obsolete) The discharge of electricity; a thunderbolt.
  • * Shakespeare
  • The revenging gods / 'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend.
  • (figuratively) The spotlight.
  • Usage notes

    * roll, clap, peal are some of the words used to count thunder.

    Derived terms

    * thunder and lightning * thunderation * thunderbird * thunderbolt * thunderboomer * thunderbox * thunderclap * thundercloud * thunderhead * thunderous * thundersquall * thunderstorm * thunder thighs

    See also

    * lightning

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To produce thunder; to sound, rattle, or roar, as a discharge of atmospheric electricity; often used impersonally.
  • (label) To make a noise like thunder.
  • (label) To talk with a loud, threatening voice.
  • (label) To say (something) with a loud, threatening voice.
  • To produce something with incredible power
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=January 19 , author=Jonathan Stevenson , title=Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Just as it appeared Arsenal had taken the sting out of the tie, Johnson produced a moment of outrageous quality, thundering a bullet of a left foot shot out of the blue and into the top left-hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net with the Pole grasping at thin air.}}

    Derived terms

    * thunderer