Meaning & use
sunshower
Last updated
UK/ˈsʌnʃaʊə/
US/ˈsʌnʃaʊər/
Meaning
nouncountableAmerican
A short fall of rain while the sun is shining.
Grammar: A countable noun: a sunshower this afternoon.
Patterns
- a sunshower in something
- caught in a sunshower
We got caught in a sunshower on the way home.
A brief sunshower made the street sparkle.
Kids ran outside to play in the sunshower.
Word forms
| plural | sunshowers |
|---|
Common combinations
- caught in a sunshower
- We were caught in a sunshower during the picnic.
- a brief sunshower
- A brief sunshower passed over the park.
- sudden sunshower
- A sudden sunshower surprised the hikers.
- a rainbow after a sunshower
- A rainbow appeared after the sunshower.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sun shower
- Sun shower is the same word written separately.
- drizzle
- Drizzle is light rain that may fall under clouds, but a sunshower is defined by bright sun at the same time.
- passing shower
- A passing shower is brief rain whether or not the sun shines.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sunshower or sunstroke?
sunshower vs sunstroke
Sunstroke is illness from too much heat and sun; a sunshower is just rain in sunshine.
Practice
It started to rain lightly while the sun was still out. That is a ___.
Choose one answer.
A sunshower is rain that falls while the sun shines. A blizzard and a hailstorm involve snow or hail.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sunshower”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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