Literary notes about Torrential (AI summary)
Writers use “torrential” to evoke an overwhelming and forceful quality that can characterize both natural phenomena and human emotions. In portrayals of nature, the term vividly describes intense, unrelenting rain or rushing water—as in the depiction of Niagara’s majestic falls ([1]), the relentless downpour that soaks entire landscapes ([2], [3]), or the physical power of a mountain stream ([4]). At the same time, “torrential” lends a metaphorical strength to language and feeling, capturing floods of words or emotions that surge with unstoppable energy ([5], [6]). In some discussions, it even extends to non-meteorological contexts, suggesting rapid, dynamic processes that overwhelm with their sheer force ([7]).
- Though there are wonderful falls in the Orient, none match the torrential beauty of Niagara near the Canadian border.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - The rain became more and more torrential—a deluge in the night.
— from Under Fire: The Story of a Squad by Henri Barbusse - It wasn't much of a place, but it was out of the torrential rain which had set in and bade fair to continue, and it was less cold than the open air.
— from Eighteen Months in the War ZoneThe Record of a Woman's Work on the Western Front by Kate John Finze - The words which had begun so hoarsely and quietly came at the finish with the torrential force of a mountain stream.
— from The Yellow Face by Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White - But here was a soul that was pouring its secret out to him in a torrential rush of words and sobs that would not wait for ritual.
— from The Shepherd of the North by Richard Aumerle Maher - What vital emotion had gripped him that his usually quiet tongue had rushed into that torrential speech that dealt with life and death?
— from Tharon of Lost Valley by Vingie E. (Vingie Eve) Roe - It is impossible to convey an idea of the torrential character of the identification of opposites as it streams through the mind in this experience.
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James
