apocalyptic

adjective

apoc·​a·​lyp·​tic ə-ˌpä-kə-ˈlip-tik 

variants or less commonly apocalyptical

ə-ˌpä-kə-ˈlip-ti-kəl 

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

ə-ˌpä-kə-ˈlip-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of apocalyptic

• climactic
• critical
• highest
• pivotal
• decisive
• climacteric
• high
• watershed

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 on the Web

Despite its shortcomings, Goliath’s Curse is best read as a call to channel apocalyptic angst into a productive political project, an appeal to combat oppression and inequality. —Linda Kinstler, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025

The Sexy Thieves in Paris News of the jewelry heist at the Louvre arrived like a dispatch from a different era—when world events could be strange and surprising without going fully apocalyptic. —Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2025

Deadline then revealed that Netflix had scouted out Brian Watkins and Julia McDermott’s Weather Girl, an apocalyptic one-woman play about a Californian weather girl in meltdown that staged sold out shows to rave reviews at Edinburgh. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2025

In the show, Canmore was transformed into the post-apocalyptic society of Jackson, Wyoming. —Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for apocalyptic

• cryptic
• diptych
• styptic
• triptych
• tryptic
• ecliptic
• elliptic