Meaning & use
thundered
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“thundered” is a form of “thunder”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Past tense of thunder: made a deep, rolling noise during a storm.
Grammar: No object; often used with it: it thundered all night.
Patterns
- it thundered
It thundered all night, and the dog hid under the bed.
The sky darkened and soon it thundered over the hills.
It thundered twice before the rain began.
verbintransitive
Moved or sounded with great loud force, like heavy noise rolling through the air.
Grammar: Usually with a direction word: thundered past, thundered down.
Patterns
- thunder past
- thunder down something
The train thundered past the platform without stopping.
Hooves thundered across the dry plain.
Waves thundered against the sea wall.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Spoke or shouted in a very loud, angry voice.
Grammar: Often introduces speech: 'Stop!' he thundered.
Patterns
- thunder at someone
- thunder that something
'Get out of my office!' the manager thundered.
The preacher thundered against greed.
Her father thundered that she would never go.
Word forms
| base form | thunder |
|---|---|
| third person singular | thunders |
| -ing form | thundering |
Common combinations
- thundered past
- Trucks thundered past the house.
- thundered down
- Water thundered down the cliff.
- thundered overhead
- Jets thundered overhead for an hour.
- thundered in reply
- 'Never!' he thundered in reply.
- it thundered
- It thundered just as the match started.
Synonyms and how they differ
- roared
- Roared suggests a steady loud sound like an engine or crowd, whereas thundered has a rolling, heavy rumble.
- boomed
- Boomed is a sudden deep sound, shorter than the long rolling noise of thundered.
- rumbled
- Rumbled is quieter and lower than thundered.
- bellowed
- Bellowed only describes a loud human or animal voice, not weather or machines.
Word family
- thunder noun
- the loud noise after lightning
- thunderous adjective
- extremely loud
- thunderstorm noun
- a storm with thunder and lightning
- thundering adjective
- very loud or very great
Commonly confused: thundered or blundered?
thundered vs blundered
Blundered means made a stupid mistake, and it only sounds a little like thundered.
Practice
'Leave this room immediately!' the principal ______.
Choose one answer.
Thundered means shouted in an angry loud voice. Whispered is the opposite, wondered would not follow an exclamation, and rumbled is quieter.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thundered”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.