Unexpectedly Useful Verbs - Fulminar
Fulminar is a verb that you will hear primarily in a scientific setting or a mythological setting and sometimes a legal setting. Its most common usage is "to strike down", which usually involves "a bolt of lightning" or the sense of "to smite", and in some cases it means "to electrocute / be struck by lightning" or "to pass away suddenly (because of an illness, injury etc.)" I believe this root word is used in other words like "effulgent" which means "blindingly bright".
The verb itself is related to Medieval Latin's word for "lightning", which is why adjectives like fulminante is related to a "fulminate" in chemistry. From what the interwebs tells me, a fulminate is typically a compound that explodes with friction, which means that fulminante and fulminar often have the imagery of a sudden and violent movement.
The main thing to take away is that its imagery evokes a sense of "lightning", so it's used for explosive, sudden or crushing shows of strength and influence, or extreme suddenness or intensity.
La Corte Suprema ha decidido fulminar esa ley injusta. - The Supreme Court has decided to strike down that unjust law.
Ojalá que fulminen esa ley. - I hope they strike down that law.
Ella me fulminó con la mirada. - (idiomatic expression: lit. "she struck me down with her gaze/glance") She stared daggers at me.
Al regresar, el profesor les echó una mirada fulminante. - Upon getting back, the professor gave them a death glare.
Esa leyenda tiene que ver con Zeus, el dios griego que fulminó a los titanes. Por eso, sus rayos representan su autoridad - celestial, tanto literal como metafórica. - This legend has to do with Zeus, the Greek god that defeated the titans. Because of this, his thunderbolts represent his heavenly authority, as literal as it is metaphoric.
El infarto fue fulminante. - The heart attack was quick and fatal.
Es raro tener éxito tan fulminante. - It's rare to be so successful over night.
Era una pérdida fulminante. - It was a crushing loss.
El químico debe tener cuidado con el fulminato de mercurio porque es muy inestable. - The chemist must be careful with the mercury fulminate because it's so volatile.