tornade

tornado

noun tor-NAD Rare

Origin: Spanish tornado (turned, from tornar)

Usage Note

Tornade refers to the violent rotating column of air; it is synonymous with trombe in some regional usage. The phrase une tornade de is used figuratively for any overwhelming rush (une tornade de questions). Tornadoes do occur in France, though they are less severe than those in North America.

Examples

"Une tornade a ravagé plusieurs villages."

Natural Translation

A tornado devastated several villages.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Ordering Food in French: Restaurant Phrases That Work

Order food in French with confidence: greet first, say je voudrais not je veux, ask for a carafe d'eau, answer quelle cuisson, and request the bill yourself.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

How to Say "I Miss You" in French (Without Errors)

"I miss you" in French is Tu me manques, not Je te manque. Learn the subject-flip behind manquer so you never text the opposite of what you mean.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Numbers 70, 80, 90 Made Simple

French numbers 70, 80, 90 are soixante-dix, quatre-vingts, and quatre-vingt-dix. Learn three build formulas to make any number 70-99 on the fly.

June 3, 2026 5 min read