"pertaining to or resembling a torrent," 1849; see torrent + -ial. Perhaps by influence of French torrentiel. Related: Torrentially.
Entries linking to torrential
torrent n.
c. 1600, "rapid stream," from French torrent (16c.) and directly from Latin torrentem (nominative torrens) "rushing, roaring" (of streams), also "a rushing stream," originally as an adjective "roaring, boiling, burning, parching, hot, inflamed," present participle of torrere "to parch" (from PIE root *ters- "to dry"). The extension to any onrush (of words, feelings, etc.) first recorded 1640s.
-ial
adjectival word-forming element, variant of -al (1) with connective -i-. From Latin -ialis, in which the -i- originally was from the stem of the word being attached but later came to be felt as connective.