torrential

adjective

tor·​ren·​tial tȯ-ˈren(t)-shəl 

tə-

1

a

: relating to or having the character of a torrent

torrential rains

b

: caused by or resulting from action of rapid streams

torrential gravel

2

: resembling a torrent in violence or rapidity of flow

torrentially

tȯ-ˈren(t)-sh(ə-)lē

tə- 

adverb

Examples of torrential in a Sentence

The rain caused torrential flooding.

Recent Examples on the Web

While torrential rains and high winds caused significant mudslides, the resilience of the North Carolinians is helping to infuse the area with travelers once again. —Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025

Take Canadian actor Adam DiMarco, who returned to the City of Lights to star in Ami‘s fall 2025 campaign after attending the French label’s June show, which was famously followed by a torrential downpour. —Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2025

At least three people, including two children, were killed in the wildfire-scarred village after torrential rain triggered raging flash flooding in July, wiping out the Ruidoso Downs Race Track and over 150 businesses and homes, many that had just rebuilt, displacing over 400 people. —Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025

The once slow-moving landslides began to rapidly accelerate after several years of torrential rains in Southern California. —Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

torrent entry 1 + -ial

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for torrential

• credential
• prudential
• sequential
• tangential
• circumferential
• inconsequential
• consequential
• deferential
• evidential
• existential
• exponential
• influential

Kids Definition

torrential

adjective

tor·​ren·​tial tȯ-ˈren-chəl 

tə-

: relating to or resembling a torrent

torrential rains

torrentially

-ˈrench-(ə-)lē 

adverb