Last week, I was up the whole night working in my house in my ultra-quiet neighborhood. Around 3 am, a thunderstorm started and broke the silence of the night. I enjoyed the sound of rain on my window and my roof. The next day, I was telling the story to a friend, but I couldn't find a good word to describe the sound of rain. The closest thing I had in my mind was the word impinge, which I had seen in a sentence from James Joyce.
"I heard the rain impinge upon the earth" — James Joyce
Impinge precisely captures all I want to convey about my experience with the sound of the rain, but it is too formal for a conversation with a friend. Is there a good word to describe my experience?
Best Answer
I heard the rain thrumming on the roof.
I heard the rain pelting the window.
I heard the rain battering the roof.
I heard the rain drumming on the window.
Or, if you like the drumming idea and want to get a bit more literary about it, how about:
The rain beat a gentle / violent / solemn tattoo on the roof.