tsunami

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /(t)suˈnæmi/ UK /(t)suːˈnɑːmi/ See IPA manual

Freq #13113

Meanings

1

noun
A very large, destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

The tsunami flooded coastal towns within minutes.
2

noun
A sudden, overwhelming surge of something.

The announcement triggered a tsunami of complaints.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms tsunamis

Derived forms megatsunamimeteotsunamipoonamiteletsunamitsunametertsunamictsunamigenictsunamilike

Related forms earthquake flood seaquakeseichewaterquake

Simplified etymology

Tsunami entered English from Japanese in the 19th century and literally means “harbour wave.”

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 津波 (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbour”) + 波 (nami, “wave”).

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# tsunami

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /(t)suˈnæmi/
**IPA (UK):** /(t)suːˈnɑːmi/
**Frequency rank:** 13113

## Meanings
1. A very large, destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption.
2. A sudden, overwhelming surge of something.

## Examples
- The tsunami flooded coastal towns within minutes.
- The announcement triggered a tsunami of complaints.

## Derived Forms
- megatsunami
- meteotsunami
- poonami
- teletsunami
- tsunameter
- tsunamic
- tsunamigenic
- tsunamilike

## Related Forms
- earthquake
- flood
- seaquake
- seiche
- waterquake

## Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 津波 (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbour”) + 波 (nami, “wave”).

## AI Etymology
Tsunami is borrowed from Japanese 津波 (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbour”) + 波 (nami, “wave”). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as megatsunami, meteotsunami, poonami, and teletsunami and related forms such as earthquake, flood, and seaquake. In present use it covers a very large, destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption and a sudden, overwhelming surge of something.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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