cataclysm

noun

ˈka-tə-ˌkli-zəm How to pronounce cataclysm (audio)
Definition of cataclysmnext
1
as in flood
a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms an ancient cataclysm that may have been the basis for the Flood described in the Bible

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction the earthquake that struck Lisbon in 1755, killing 30,000 people, was one of the greatest cataclysms ever recorded

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in upheaval
a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order) a social cataclysm that gave rise to a new world order

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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 cataclysm And of course, anything living on the site has likely been wiped out by the neighborhood cataclysm. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 31 July 2026 Jacobsen has assembled plenty of relevant precedents for an unprecedented cataclysm. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026 But although few, then, could possibly have foreseen the cataclysm of the twentieth-century wars, the hatred was already there in the anti-semitism of old France, in the divisions over Dreyfus. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026 This was a mini cataclysm for 15,000 USAID workers all around the world. — Fatma Tanis, NPR, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for cataclysm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysm
  1. flood
  2. disaster
  3. upheaval
  4. torrent
  5. catastrophe
  6. revolution
  7. apocalypse
  8. earthquake
Noun
  • Flood warning notices were sent to people's phones throughout Sunday morning, as rescue crews worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst-hit by Wednesday's catasrophic floods.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Many of the tracks featured on the project are also declining, which is common after a blockbuster album floods the rankings with new hits.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of flood
Noun
  • Sceye and SoftBank used an emergency alert system designed for large-scale disasters.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The scale of the disaster has proved challenging for authorities, with morgues overwhelmed by a large number of unidentified remains.
    — Andrew Jones, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of disaster
Noun
  • The landscape stayed quiet for a while, until a series of upheavals in the American League West.
    — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Artificial intelligence has unleashed the greatest upheaval within the industry since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of upheaval
Noun
  • In many cases, bodies have been washed far downstream and rendered unrecognizable, while others still missing are feared to have been buried in the torrent of thick mud.
    — Andrew Jones, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The more this approach has led to the destruction of Palestinian houses, cars, and mosques and the killing of Palestinians, the greater the torrent of criticism from foreign governments.
    — Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of torrent
Noun
  • Summary Coastal and high-risk hotels face soaring insurance premiums, up 45-100%, as natural catastrophe losses escalate.
    — Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • That didn’t stop catastrophes like the 2018 fire in the Sierra foothills that destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • During its socialist revolution, the government kicked out many foreign oil companies.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Two years after the 2011 Egyptian revolution, then 17-year-old Abdelrahman ElGendy and his father were arrested for recording a protest on the streets of Cairo.
    — Mary Lawrence Ware, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of revolution
Noun
  • Why private credit may avoid a ‘crisis-apocalypse’ Blackstone’s scale attracts outsized scrutiny, and investors’ attempts to pull money from its private credit funds earlier this year made headline news.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Messages break down, signals decay, information rots; the stuff of everyday data dystopia and media apocalypse, but in Braxton’s hands, raw material to be shaped into something recombinant and strange.
    — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • After the earthquakes, American Airlines transported relief supplies to Venezuela on a Boeing 737.
    — Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Critics say nuclear energy is too expensive and still faces risks from natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of earthquake

Browse Nearby Words

catachrestic
cataclysm
cataclysmal
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Cite this Entry

“Cataclysm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysm. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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