apocalypse

apocalypse — noun

1. an event or period that causes huge damage and completely changes normal life

1.nounC1
Definition

an event or period that causes huge damage and completely changes normal life

Example

Many farmers feared the long drought would bring an apocalypse.

bring + apocalypse in figurative use

Friday's cyberattack felt like an apocalypse for three small town hospitals.

Common collocations
  • economic apocalypse
  • nuclear apocalypse
  • zombie apocalypse
  • survive an apocalypse
  • apocalypse scenario
Synonyms
  • disaster

    more general and less dramatic

  • catastrophe

    formal and often used for very serious events

  • collapse

    focuses on a system or structure breaking down

Antonyms
  • recovery

    focuses on rebuilding after damage

  • stability

    suggests order and normal conditions

Grammar Patterns

an apocalypse

bring an apocalypse

Usage Note

Often used figuratively for war, disease, climate disaster, or financial collapse, not only for the literal end of the world. Common with dramatic modifiers such as nuclear, zombie, or economic.

Common Mistakes

The bus was late, so it was an apocalypse.
The bus was late, so it was a disaster.
apocalypse is only used for destruction on a much larger scale.

2. the world's final destruction in Biblical teaching, when evil is defeated

2.nounC1
Definition

the world's final destruction in Biblical teaching, when evil is defeated

Example

At Sunday service, some preachers warned that the apocalypse was near.

the apocalypse + be near

The novel imagines red skies and falling stars before the apocalypse.

Common collocations
  • signs of the apocalypse
  • before the apocalypse
  • the coming apocalypse
  • apocalypse prophecy
Synonyms
  • Armageddon

    strongly tied to the last battle at the end of the world

  • doomsday

    more informal and broader in everyday use

  • Judgment Day

    focuses on divine judgment rather than destruction itself

Grammar Patterns

the apocalypse

Usage Note

Usually used with the when speakers mean the Biblical event. Distinguish from sense 1, which is often figurative and can describe any extremely destructive situation.

Common Mistakes

The Bible says an apocalypse may happen many times.
The Bible describes the apocalypse as a final event.
this sense refers to one ultimate ending, not repeated disasters.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For sense 1, apocalypse is the most dramatic choice. Disaster is the broad everyday word, so it can describe anything from a missed exam to a major flood. Catastrophe is stronger and more formal, and it often appears in news or official writing. Collapse is different because it stresses a system failing, such as an economy or government. Armageddon is even more extreme than apocalypse and often suggests a final battle or the end of the world, so it can sound theatrical in ordinary situations. You can say a power cut was a disaster, a war was a catastrophe, an industry suffered collapse, but only the worst imaginable destruction is called an apocalypse.

disaster ↗catastrophe ↗collapse ↗Armageddon

Common collocations

Nouns

  • apocalypse film
  • apocalypse story
  • apocalypse imagery

Phrases

  • fear the apocalypse
  • survive the apocalypse

Prepositions

  • before the apocalypse
  • after the apocalypse

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Apocalypse came into English through Latin and French from Greek apokalypsis, a word meaning an uncovering or revelation. Because the last book of the Bible presents hidden truths about the end times, the word gradually became closely linked with the world's final destruction.