lightning
lightning Lexical Profile
lightning Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A massive, naturally occurring electrical discharge in the atmosphere, typically between clouds or from a cloud to the ground, accompanied by a bright flash.
"The ancient oak tree was split down the middle after being struck by lightning during the severe summer storm."
• adjective
Occurring or moving with extraordinary speed or suddenness.
"The military launched a lightning offensive that caught the opposing forces completely off guard."
• verb
To emit or discharge flashes of electrical light in the atmosphere (typically used in the impersonal construction 'it lightnings').
"It thundered and lightninged so fiercely that the power grid failed across the entire county."
Word Nuance & Usage
The noun 'lightning' (the meteorological phenomenon) is commonly confused with the homophone 'lightening' (the process of making something lighter in weight or color).
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'lightening', originally a verbal noun from 'lightnen' (to flash). The spelling was contracted in the 16th century to distinguish the meteorological electrical discharge from the act of making something physically lighter.