cataclysm

[ kat-uh-kliz-uhm ]
See synonyms for cataclysm on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any violent upheaval, especially one of a social or political nature.

  2. Physical Geography. a sudden and violent physical action producing changes in the earth's surface.

  1. an extensive flood; deluge.

Origin of cataclysm

1
1625–35; <Late Latin cataclysmos (Vulgate) <Greek kataklysmós flood (akin to kataklýzein to flood), equivalent to kata-cata- + klysmós a washing

synonym study For cataclysm

1. See disaster.

Words that may be confused with cataclysm

Words Nearby cataclysm

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How to use cataclysm in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cataclysm

cataclysm

/ (ˈkætəˌklɪzəm) /


noun
  1. a violent upheaval, esp of a political, military, or social nature

  2. a disastrous flood; deluge

  1. geology another name for catastrophe (def. 4)

Origin of cataclysm

1
C17: via French from Latin, from Greek kataklusmos deluge, from katakluzein to flood, from kluzein to wash

Derived forms of cataclysm

  • cataclysmic or cataclysmal, adjective
  • cataclysmically, adverb

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