apocalypse

noun

ə-ˈpä-kə-ˌlips How to pronounce apocalypse (audio)
Definition of apocalypsenext
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction the fear that the next global pandemic could be an apocalypse of biblical proportions

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of apocalypse How much power can a last name have when staring down the potential apocalypse? — Alison Herman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026 Suddenly, the robot apocalypse seems more realistic than ever. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The end of the world has come in many forms for Robert and Michelle King, television’s reigning masters of the feel-good/feel-bad apocalypse. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026 Iñárritu’s play-within-a-film-within-an-apocalypse structure invites the audience to mock Cruise’s character, only to dismiss that catharsis as cold comfort. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for apocalypse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apocalypse
  1. disaster
  2. catastrophe
  3. tragedy
  4. calamity
Noun
  • Residents, meanwhile, can give firefighters the best shot at stopping a potential disaster by clearing flammable vegetation in their yards and fire-hardening their homes.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The goal, ultimately, is not to eat our way out of an ecological disaster.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of disaster
Noun
  • Without an authoritative accounting, Eisenkot argues, the country cannot fully reckon with the catastrophe.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Retreating Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait creating an environmental catastrophe felt throughout the Gulf.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • The tragedy is the deadliest among those that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the border from Mexico.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Those deaths, those tragedies, unimaginable losses, became my win.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • In Eatontown, Daunt got out of the car in a strip mall, to contemplate a mild calamity.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Further calamity struck in June 2023 when floodwaters inundated the city after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed from an explosion that an Associated Press investigation found was likely caused by the Russian military, killing hundreds of residents.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of calamity

Browse Nearby Words

aplomb
apocalypse
apocalypses
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Cite this Entry

“Apocalypse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apocalypse. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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