apocalyptic

adjective apoc·a·lyp·tic \ ə-ˌpä-kə-ˈlip-tik \

variants: or less commonly apocalyptical play \-ti-kəl\

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: apocalyptic in a Sentence

Definition of apocalyptic

1 : of, relating to, or resembling an apocalypse

apocalyptic events

2 : forecasting the ultimate destiny of the world : prophetic

apocalyptic warnings

3 : foreboding imminent disaster or final doom : terrible

apocalyptic signs of the coming end-times

4 : wildly unrestrained : grandiose

5 : ultimately decisive : climactic

an apocalyptic battle

—

apocalyptically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See apocalyptic defined for English-language learners

Examples of apocalyptic in a Sentence

No one listened to her apocalyptic predictions.
a less apocalyptic view of the future
the apocalyptic destruction of the world

Recent Examples of apocalyptic from the Web

When Angels Fall’’ by France’s Raphaelle Boitel, who will employ dance, film, and circus artistry to tell the story of flightless angels who have to find ways to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

— don aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, "ArtsEmerson’s next act: 11 productions, including a remount of ‘American Moor’," 8 May 2018
The community features some 50,000 survivors with advanced technology compared to the rest of the post-apocalyptic world.

— troy l. smith, cleveland.com, "Is this where 'The Walking Dead' is headed in Season 9?," 8 May 2018
Netflix has a new YA series coming up that’s about a group of teens trying to survive in an apocalyptic world after a virus has wiped out most of society.

— jacob kastrenakes, The Verge, "New trailers: Deadpool 2, YouTube’s Karate Kid TV series, and more," 24 Mar. 2018
But around the turn of the 20th century, advances in science, technology, and medicine seem to have shifted the way many apocalyptic stories were told.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "What Pacific Rim: Uprising gains in Jaeger-on-kaiju action, it loses in originality," 21 Mar. 2018
Mandel’s beautiful depiction of the survival of human culture and art in a post-apocalyptic world earned it the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2015.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "12 Dystopian Books You Should Read if You Like The Handmaid’s Tale," 20 Apr. 2017
Preppers are ready to purify water to drink, hunt and butcher for meals, and scare off anyone who tries to get a piece of their post-apocalyptic bliss, possibly via gunfire.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "What exactly are “preppers” prepping for?," 25 May 2018
At the end of the 1970s Central Park was a post-apocalyptic mess.

— david hugh smith, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Saving Central Park' recounts a love affair with a legendary green space," 24 May 2018
Teammates communicate via headsets, launch missions to scavenge for supplies amid a post-apocalyptic landscape, build traps and ultimately ward off and destroy a legion of zombies, all the while shoring up a fort against the encroaching mob.

— gabe lacques, USA TODAY, "Fortnite: How a video game became baseball's most addictive pastime, from MLB to Little League," 21 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apocalyptic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of apocalyptic

borrowed from New Latin apocalypticus, derivative of apocalypsis apocalypse, by analogy with pairs such as ellīpsis ellipsis : ellīpticus elliptic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1633

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year