blizzard

C2+ Topic:Weather & Climate

US /ˈblɪzɚd/ UK /ˈblɪzəd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a severe snowstorm with high winds and reduced visibility

The blizzard buried the village under two feet of snow overnight.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a severe snowstorm with... snowstormwhiteouttempest squall gale storm

Word family

Derived forms blizzardy

Etymology

An Americanism first recorded in the 1820s with the sense 'a violent blow'; its application to snowstorms dates from the 1870s. Of obscure origin, possibly imitative or related to dialectal 'blizz' ('violent rainstorm').

Topics

Weather & Climate

External links

# blizzard

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈblɪzɚd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈblɪzəd/

## Meanings
1. a severe snowstorm with high winds and reduced visibility

## Examples
- The blizzard buried the village under two feet of snow overnight.

## Synonyms
- snowstorm
- whiteout
- tempest
- squall
- gale
- storm

## Derived Forms
- blizzardy

## Etymology
An Americanism first recorded in the 1820s with the sense 'a violent blow'; its application to snowstorms dates from the 1870s. Of obscure origin, possibly imitative or related to dialectal 'blizz' ('violent rainstorm').

## AI Etymology
Blizzard is an Americanism first recorded in the 1820s with the sense 'a violent blow'; its application to snowstorms dates from the 1870s. Of obscure origin, possibly imitative or related to dialectal 'blizz' ('violent rainstorm'). The later sense follows a semantic development already present in the word's history. In modern use it means a severe snowstorm with high winds and reduced visibility. Derived formations include blizzardy.

## Topics
- Weather & Climate

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