aftershock
/ˈæftɜɹʃɔk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.58 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An earthquake that follows in the same vicinity as another, usually larger, earthquake (the "mainshock").
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "It was not a peace that brought joy – it was one that created an oppressive tension like the calm between a major earthquake and the aftershock."
- "As aftershocks of 3.0 magnitude or higher continued to rock the area, rescuers transported over 50,000 people from the hardest-hit Luding county, according to local media"
- "The collapse of the financial market sixty days later was the aftershock."
- "Set in the 1950s, Badlands looks back to that period of malaise in American culture which was defined by the aftershock of world war, the fears engendered by the Cold War, and the questioning of both cultural and individual identity."
- "On the other hand, in a global economy, many governments are seeking to limit their social costs in order to attract global corporations to invest in their countries, while also grappling with the aftershock of the banking crisis which has seen state financial support to the banking sector amount to L850 billion of guarantees and loans (National Audit Office, 2011)."
- "The Republican president is making a major political bet that his actions will not worsen inflation, cause financial aftershocks that could destabilize the worldwide economy or provoke a voter backlash."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep(o)teros Proto-Germanic *after Old English æfter Middle English after English after ▲ Old English æfter Old English æfter- Middle English after- English after- English shock English aftershock From after- + shock.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæftɜɹʃɔk/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Geology.