doom

noun

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\ ˈdüm

Definition of doom

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a law or ordinance especially in Anglo-Saxon England

2a : judgment, decision especially : a judicial condemnation or sentence

b(1) : judgment sense 5a

(2) : judgment day sense 1

3a : destiny especially : unhappy destiny

b : death, ruin

doom

verb

doomed; dooming; dooms

Definition of doom (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to give judgment against : condemn

2a : to fix the fate of : destine felt he was doomed to a life of loneliness

b : to make certain the failure or destruction of the scandal doomed her chances for election

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About doom

Choose the Right Synonym for doom

Noun

fate, destiny, lot, portion, doom mean a predetermined state or end. fate implies an inevitable and usually an adverse outcome. the fate of the submarine is unknown destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end. the country's destiny to be a model of liberty to the world lot and portion imply a distribution by fate or destiny, lot suggesting blind chance it was her lot to die childless , portion implying the apportioning of good and evil. remorse was his daily portion doom distinctly implies a grim or calamitous fate. if the rebellion fails, his doom is certain

Examples of doom in a Sentence

Noun The papers are filled with stories of gloom and doom. the story of a mysterious creature who lures travelers to their doom Verb A criminal record will doom your chances of becoming a politician. had always felt that he was doomed to remain single forever

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Lockdowns, school closures, working from home and feeling isolated, living in dread of getting sick, non-stop divisive politics and the mass media purveying doom and gloom every hour all day long has taken a mental health toll. — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2022 But there was a countermovement happening in the ’70s that produced nearly as many pictures as the doom-and-gloom mode. — Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021 This sense of doom and gloom is bewildering to liberals, to say the least. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 Dec. 2021 The aftermath was riddled with sad-eyed, low-voiced proclamations of doom and gloom if things didn’t change soon. — Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Nov. 2021 The October retail sales report, which easily beat expectations, signals the US economy is heading into the holiday shopping season with serious momentum — despite the doom-and-gloom signaled by polls. — Matt Egan, CNN, 17 Nov. 2021 Further limiting targeting sounds like doom and gloom for real estate marketers. — Alex Wan, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2021 But because of our fuzzy understanding of vaccine effectiveness, the word’s use in pandemic times has become much more doom and gloom, with some reports even equating breakthroughs with vaccine failures. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2021 For all the pilot’s urgent conversations, visions of doom and rapid-fire exposition, its best scene is its outright strangest. — Caroline Framke, Variety, 28 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Trying to create an exception to the legislative filibuster would doom it in toto. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 23 Dec. 2021 And in an ironic twist, a growing number of stores are being repurposed by the very e-commerce giant that helped doom them. — The Week Staff, The Week, 7 Aug. 2021 How does Ciri’s emulation of Geralt prepare her to take on any foe or doom her to a life of otherness — or both? — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2021 The House passed that measure last week, but Republican opposition would almost certainly doom it in the Senate. — Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2021 Witnesses at the two hearings urged caution about any effort to craft a single, multilayered proposal to revise California’s recall rules, warning that varying degrees of support for individual provisions could doom the entire effort. — John Myers, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2021 This doesn’t mean that leaving a job to prioritize your mental health and wellbeing will doom the rest of your career. — Sarah Todd, Quartz, 21 Sep. 2021 The House passed that measure last week, but Republican opposition would almost certainly doom it in the Senate. — Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2021 Imagine trying to get a look off only to doom yourself to weeks of breakage! — Jihan Forbes, Allure, 25 Oct. 2021

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