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/səˈɹɔːnəskəʊp/ · noun
(historical) An instrument or apparatus employed in the ancient Greek mysteries to imitate thunder and lightning..
The machine with which these effects were produced on the stage was called a ceraunoscope.
The ceraunoscope is mentioned by many authors as capable of producing the most startling effects.
By means of images reflected in concave mirrors, the ceraunoscope (by which thunder was produced), and the secrets of chemistry and mechanics with which they were acquainted, the priests were enabled to maintain an unbounded influence over their devotees.
Since I have not been able to discover the mechanics of the original, presumably mechanical ceraunoscope, I don't know how the earliest re-creators of lightning and thunder approached their task.
Use ceraunoscope when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Ceraunoscope means (historical) An instrument or apparatus employed in the ancient Greek mysteries to imitate thunder and lightning..
The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
The machine with which these effects were produced on the stage was called a ceraunoscope.
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