Word
doom
US/ˈdum/
UK/dˈuːm/
Definitions
01terrible fate
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun
n. a very bad or tragic end that you cannot escape.
n. an inevitable and usually disastrous fate or destiny.
“The hero in the story walked toward his doom with his head held high.”
“The prophecy spoke of a kingdom meeting its doom through the betrayal of its own trusted advisors.”
02feeling of despair
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun
n. a strong feeling that something terrible is going to happen.
n. a psychological state of dread or impending disaster.
“A sense of doom filled the room as the bad news arrived.”
“Despite the sunny weather, a lingering sense of doom pervaded the city as the deadline for the peace talks approached.”
Synonyms
03the Last Judgment
C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Religion Literary · Archaic
n. the final judgment of the world in some religions.
n. the final judgment of mankind by God; often used in the phrase 'Day of Doom'.
“Old paintings in the church showed the Day of Doom.”
“The medieval fresco depicted the terrors of the Doom, with figures rising from their graves to face final justice.”
Synonyms
04to condemn
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to make it certain that someone or something will fail or suffer.
v. to destine or condemn to an unhappy or terrible fate; almost always used in the passive voice.
“The project was doomed to fail because they didn't have enough money.”
“The expedition was doomed from the start by a combination of poor planning and exceptionally harsh winter conditions.”
Usage
Usually appears in the passive form 'be doomed to'.
Etymology
From Middle English doom, dom, from Old English dōm (“judgement”), from Proto-West Germanic dōm, from Proto-Germanic dōmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos. Cognates Compare Dutch doem (“condemnation, doom; judgement”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish dom (“judgement”), Faroese and Icelandic dómur (“judgement”), Gothic 𐌳𐍉𐌼𐍃 (dōms, “insight, judgement”); also Ancient Greek θωμός (thōmós, “heap”), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian ду́ма (dúma, “thought”), Polish duma (“pride”). Doublet of duma. See also deem.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
Related words
Idioms
01. prophet of doom
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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