CATACLYSM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cataclysm mean? 

• CATACLYSM (noun)
  The noun CATACLYSM has 2 senses:

1. a sudden violent change in the earth's surface

2. an event resulting in great loss and misfortune

  Familiarity information: CATACLYSM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CATACLYSM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sudden violent change in the earth's surface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

cataclysm; catastrophe

Hypernyms ("cataclysm" is a kind of...):

geological phenomenon (a natural phenomenon involving the structure or composition of the earth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cataclysm"):

nuclear winter (a long period of darkness and extreme cold that scientists predict would follow a full-scale nuclear war; a layer of dust and smoke in the atmosphere would cover the earth and block the rays of the sun; most living organisms would perish)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An event resulting in great loss and misfortune

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

calamity; cataclysm; catastrophe; disaster; tragedy

Context example:

the earthquake was a disaster

Hypernyms ("cataclysm" is a kind of...):

bad luck; misfortune (unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cataclysm"):

act of God; force majeure; inevitable accident; unavoidable casualty; vis major (a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events)

apocalypse (a cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil)

famine (a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death)

kiss of death (something that is ruinous)

meltdown (a disaster comparable to a nuclear meltdown)

plague (any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God))

visitation (any disaster or catastrophe)

tidal wave (an unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high tide)

tsunami (a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption)

Derivation:

cataclysmal; cataclysmic (severely destructive)