earthquake a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface:
The earthquake destroyed homes, telephone lines and roads.quake informal an earthquake – used especially in journalism:
More than 2000 people died when a quake hit the island of Flores. tremor a small movement in the earth’s surface in which the ground shakes slightly:
He was awoken by a series of tremors during the night.aftershock further movements in the earth’s surface that happen after a larger earthquake:
In the days after the earthquake, the area suffered a series of aftershocks.tsunami an ocean wave caused by an earthquake under the water:
There was no warning of the approaching tsunami. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲