Cataclysm
noun
A large and violent event that causes massive change or disaster.
The global financial crisis was a cataclysm that affected many countries.
Often appears as...
- natural cataclysm
- global cataclysm
noun
A catastrophic and destructive flood or other natural disaster.
The cataclysm at the end of glacial periods caused the ice to melt rapidly.
Often appears as...
- geological cataclysm
- environmental cataclysm
Usage tips
Technical
noun
An extremely violent or destructive event, especially one marking the end of a state of affairs or a system.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a cataclysm that marked the end of the Cold War.
Often appears as...
- political cataclysm
- historical cataclysm
Usage tips
Historical
noun
A large and violent event that causes massive change or disaster.
The global financial crisis was a cataclysm that affected many countries.
Often appears as...
- natural cataclysm
- global cataclysm
noun
A catastrophic and destructive flood or other natural disaster.
The cataclysm at the end of glacial periods caused the ice to melt rapidly.
Often appears as...
- geological cataclysm
- environmental cataclysm
Usage tips
Technical
noun
An extremely violent or destructive event, especially one marking the end of a state of affairs or a system.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a cataclysm that marked the end of the Cold War.
Often appears as...
- political cataclysm
- historical cataclysm
Usage tips
Historical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Massive Impact
Used to describe events that dramatically alter life or landscape.
The asteroid collision was a cataclysm, changing Earth's environment forever.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Connotation
Implies harmful outcomes, not just any big change.
War is often a cataclysm, leaving devastation in its wake.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Literal
Can be metaphorical, referring to events that feel like disasters.
Her sudden resignation was a cataclysm for the company's morale.
Pro Tip 1/3Massive Impact
Used to describe events that dramatically alter life or landscape.
The asteroid collision was a cataclysm, changing Earth's environment forever.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Connotation
Implies harmful outcomes, not just any big change.
War is often a cataclysm, leaving devastation in its wake.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Literal
Can be metaphorical, referring to events that feel like disasters.
Her sudden resignation was a cataclysm for the company's morale.
Pro Tip 1/3Massive Impact
Used to describe events that dramatically alter life or landscape.
The asteroid collision was a cataclysm, changing Earth's environment forever.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Connotation
Implies harmful outcomes, not just any big change.
War is often a cataclysm, leaving devastation in its wake.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Literal
Can be metaphorical, referring to events that feel like disasters.
Her sudden resignation was a cataclysm for the company's morale.
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Video examples
The Halls of Extinction...
every single one of the millions of species alive today perhaps a thousand others have perished most of them died out in everyday competition with other life-forms but many of them were swept away vast cataclysms overwhelmed the
Video examples
5 Reasons Ants Are...
exhaustion cataclysm searches for these casualties when it's so hot that even it seeks relief from the burning surface when it can at first it forages randomly over the sand but when it finds its exhausted prey
Video examples
The rise and fall of the...
but one of his other sons remained and successfully rallied the city’s defenses. For his military skill, he became the ninth Inca ruler, assuming the name of Pachacuti, or "Cataclysm."
Video examples
Yuval Noah Harari: The...
But we should not lose hope. Humanity has enormous resources under its command, and by applying them wisely, we can still prevent ecological cataclysm. Let's talk numbers.
Video examples
The Halls of Extinction...
every single one of the millions of species alive today perhaps a thousand others have perished most of them died out in everyday competition with other life-forms but many of them were swept away vast cataclysms overwhelmed the
Video examples
5 Reasons Ants Are...
exhaustion cataclysm searches for these casualties when it's so hot that even it seeks relief from the burning surface when it can at first it forages randomly over the sand but when it finds its exhausted prey
Video examples
The rise and fall of the...
but one of his other sons remained and successfully rallied the city’s defenses. For his military skill, he became the ninth Inca ruler, assuming the name of Pachacuti, or "Cataclysm."
Video examples
Yuval Noah Harari: The...
But we should not lose hope. Humanity has enormous resources under its command, and by applying them wisely, we can still prevent ecological cataclysm. Let's talk numbers.
Example 1 of 4
Quote examples
Eliot Spitzer
American Lawyer
Don't reward bad behavior. It is one of the first rules of parenting. During the financial cataclysm of 2008, we said it differently. When we bailed out banks that had created their own misfortune, we called it a 'moral hazard,' because the bailout absolved the bank's bad acts and created an incentive for it to make the same bad loans again.
Quote examples
Charles Albert Gobat
Swiss Lawyer
It is true that I am not one of those who laugh at utopias. The utopia of today can become the reality of tomorrow. Utopias are conceived by optimistic logic which regards constant social and political progress as the ultimate goal of human endeavor; pessimism would plunge a hopeless mankind into a fresh cataclysm.
Quote examples
Wole Soyinka
Nigerian Dramatist
A war, with its attendant human suffering, must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made to fragment more than buildings: It must shatter the foundations of thought and re-create. Only in this way does every individual share in the cataclysm and understand the purpose of sacrifice.
Quote examples
Hilary Mantel
English Writer
Sometimes I fantasize that all my furniture has been destroyed in a cataclysm, and I have to start again with only the stationery catalogue. My entire house would become an office, which would be an overt recognition of the existing state of affairs.
Quote examples
John Muir
American Environmentalist
Storms of every sort, torrents, earthquakes, cataclysms, 'convulsions of nature,' etc., however mysterious and lawless at first sight they may seem, are only harmonious notes in the song of creation, varied expressions of God's love.
Quote examples
Isabel Allende
Chilean Writer
I don't think the world will destroy itself in a nuclear cataclysm. On the contrary, we have the capacity to save ourselves and save the planet, and we will use it.
Quote examples
Jhumpa Lahiri
American Author
I don't tackle major global events. I don't like to read about something - an event, a cataclysm - in fiction for the sake of reading it.
Quote examples
Augustus Sol Invictus
American Activist
I don't think I'm the only person who sees a cataclysm coming, but I think I'm the only person saying it, and I think that scares people.
Quote examples
Camille Claudel
French Sculptor
Send me one hundred francs on our future deals, otherwise I will disappear in a cataclysm.
Quote examples
Walter Mercado
Puerto Rican Celebrity
In many cultures, a total eclipse of the Sun predicts cataclysms and bad events.
Quote examples
Eliot Spitzer
American Lawyer
Don't reward bad behavior. It is one of the first rules of parenting. During the financial cataclysm of 2008, we said it differently. When we bailed out banks that had created their own misfortune, we called it a 'moral hazard,' because the bailout absolved the bank's bad acts and created an incentive for it to make the same bad loans again.
Quote examples
Charles Albert Gobat
Swiss Lawyer
It is true that I am not one of those who laugh at utopias. The utopia of today can become the reality of tomorrow. Utopias are conceived by optimistic logic which regards constant social and political progress as the ultimate goal of human endeavor; pessimism would plunge a hopeless mankind into a fresh cataclysm.
Quote examples
Wole Soyinka
Nigerian Dramatist
A war, with its attendant human suffering, must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made to fragment more than buildings: It must shatter the foundations of thought and re-create. Only in this way does every individual share in the cataclysm and understand the purpose of sacrifice.
Quote examples
Hilary Mantel
English Writer
Sometimes I fantasize that all my furniture has been destroyed in a cataclysm, and I have to start again with only the stationery catalogue. My entire house would become an office, which would be an overt recognition of the existing state of affairs.
Quote examples
John Muir
American Environmentalist
Storms of every sort, torrents, earthquakes, cataclysms, 'convulsions of nature,' etc., however mysterious and lawless at first sight they may seem, are only harmonious notes in the song of creation, varied expressions of God's love.
Quote examples
Isabel Allende
Chilean Writer
I don't think the world will destroy itself in a nuclear cataclysm. On the contrary, we have the capacity to save ourselves and save the planet, and we will use it.
Quote examples
Jhumpa Lahiri
American Author
I don't tackle major global events. I don't like to read about something - an event, a cataclysm - in fiction for the sake of reading it.
Quote examples
Augustus Sol Invictus
American Activist
I don't think I'm the only person who sees a cataclysm coming, but I think I'm the only person saying it, and I think that scares people.
Quote examples
Camille Claudel
French Sculptor
Send me one hundred francs on our future deals, otherwise I will disappear in a cataclysm.
Quote examples
Walter Mercado
Puerto Rican Celebrity
In many cultures, a total eclipse of the Sun predicts cataclysms and bad events.
Example 1 of 10
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