What does fulminate mean?
Word: Fulminate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Fulminate means to criticise someone or something angrily and at length.
Synonyms: rage, rail, protest, thunder
Antonyms: praise, applaud
Word origin: Comes from Latin fulminare, to strike with lightning, from fulmen (a thunderbolt).
How do you spell fulminate?
Syllables: ful - mi - nate
Tricky part: The word starts with ful and has only one l, so fullminate is the slip students make.
Watch out for: fullminate, fulminnate
Memory tip: One l only: an angry speaker is in too much of a hurry for a second one.
Fulminate in a sentence
Example 1: The old man fulminated against the noise from the wedding band.
Example 2: The coach fulminated against the late start of the match.
Example 3: Instead of fulminating about the rules, she wrote a polite letter to the council.
Fun Fact
The Latin verb behind fulminate meant to strike with lightning; in English the word was first used for solemn condemnations that powerful leaders were said to thunder out, and later for any long, angry attack.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Red in the face and banging the table, Grandpa would ___ about the honking horns outside his window.
a) ruminate
b) fulminate
c) speculate
d) deliberate
Show answer
b) fulminate. Ruminate, speculate and deliberate are all calm kinds of thinking; an angry outburst is to fulminate.
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) fulmenate
b) eliminate
c) dominate
d) illuminate
Show answer
a) fulmenate. The vowel after the m is i, as in the other three words.
Spell Probe
Fill the blanks with 'u' and 'a'. Which option gives the meaning of that word?
1. f__scin__te 2. f__rm__nt 3. f__lmin__te 4. f__l__city
a) to change chemically, as milk does into yoghurt
b) to rant furiously about something
c) to hold someone's attention completely
d) a state of great happiness and good fortune
Show answer
b) to rant furiously about something. Only fulminate takes u and a; fascinate needs a and a, ferment e and e, and felicity e and i.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the sentence?
Uncle Prakash would fulminate about the potholes every morning, but he never once wrote to the municiple office.
a) 0
b) 1
c) 2
d) 3
Show answer
b) 1. Municipal ends in pal; fulminate, potholes and morning are all correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A person who fulminates is
a) tired and sleepy
b) shy and nervous
c) quiet and calm
d) angry and protesting
Show answer
d) angry and protesting
2. A newspaper column that fulminates against plastic bags
a) gives tips on folding them
b) attacks their use angrily
c) praises how useful they are
d) lists their prices
Show answer
b) attacks their use angrily
