pelting
/'peltiɳ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A rapid, heavy, and continuous falling or striking of something: Refers to something happening quickly and in rapid succession, often describing the forceful impact of numerous small objects like rain, hail, or projectiles.
Usage and Examples
- Noun:
- The sudden pelting of hail damaged the car's roof. (The rapid, heavy fall of hail caused damage.)
- She ran for cover from the pelting of the summer rain. (She sought shelter from the heavy, driving rain.)
- The politician faced a pelting of questions from the angry crowd. (He faced a rapid, successive barrage of questions.)
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- The term "pelting" often implies not just speed but also a sense of force, intensity, or even violence in the delivery. It is commonly used with weather phenomena but can be metaphorically extended to non-physical things like words or insults.
- "A pelting of" is a standard collocation used to introduce the things that are falling or being thrown rapidly.
Variants and Related Words
- Pelt (verb): To attack by repeatedly throwing things or to strike repeatedly, often used with 'with'.
- The children pelted each other with snowballs.
- Pelt (noun): The skin of a fur-bearing animal. (This is a distinct meaning from the action of pelting).
Synonyms
- Barrage: A concentrated outpouring, as of questions or blows.
- Volley: A simultaneous or successive discharge of many projectiles or words.
- Downpour: A heavy fall of rain (specifically for rain).
- Fusillade: A rapid series of shots or questions.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- Pelting rain: An idiom describing very heavy, driving rain.
- They canceled the picnic due to the pelting rain.
- At full pelt: Running or moving at top speed. (Note: This idiom uses "pelt" as a noun related to speed, not directly "pelting").
- The dog ran at full pelt across the field.
Noun
- anything happening rapidly or in quick successive
- a rain of bullets
- a pelting of insults