apocalyptic
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.describing a very large disaster that seems like the end of the world.
adj.relating to or resembling a complete and final destruction of the world; often used to describe catastrophic modern events.
Simple“The city looked apocalyptic after the massive storm destroyed all the buildings.”
In context“The film depicts an apocalyptic landscape where survivors must scavenge for resources in the ruins of a once-great civilization.”
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
adj.relating to religious stories that describe the end of time or hidden secrets.
adj.pertaining to a genre of prophetic literature that details the final judgment and the end of the world through symbolic visions.
Simple“The book of Revelation is the most famous apocalyptic text in the Bible.”
In context“Scholars often compare apocalyptic traditions across different cultures to understand how ancient societies conceptualized the end of history.”
Synonymspropheticrevelatory - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.someone who predicts that the world is going to end soon.
n.a person who predicts or warns of an impending apocalypse or total societal collapse.
Simple“He was known as an apocalyptic who spent his life warning people about the coming disaster.”
In context“The fringe group was led by a self-styled apocalyptic who claimed to have received visions of the planet's final days.”
Synonymsdoomsayerprophet
“Image caption, The Daily Mail calls the disaster "apocalyptic", saying there is a "desperate hunt" for the more than 30 Britons missing including a school girl.”
“The true danger, however, lay not in the apocalyptic fire cloud but in the pollutants that it dispersed.”
Borrowed from Latin apocalypticus, from Ancient Greek ἀποκαλυπτικός (apokaluptikós, “revelatory”), from ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”), from ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō, “I reveal, uncover”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.