From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthunderboltthun‧der‧bolt /ˈθʌndəbəʊlt $ -dərboʊlt/ noun [countable] 1 HEMDNa flash of lightning which hits a person or thing and kills or destroys them2 SHOCKa sudden event or piece of news that shocks you The idea hit her like a thunderbolt.
Examples from the Corpus
thunderbolt• And it hit me like a thunderbolt.• Like a thunderbolt it had come, just when he looked like losing it all.• To her his departure had come like a cruel thunderbolt.• Thunder and lightning are caused when Zeus hurls his thunderbolt.• Pollux stabbed Lynceus, and Zeus struck Idas with his thunderbolt.• His public outbursts of temper and his oratorical thunderbolts of defiance were likewise psychological reinforcements for a person who needed them.• Dad clapped his hands over his cheeks when the thunderbolt struck. 