postapocalyptic

adjective

post·​apoc·​a·​lyp·​tic ˌpōst-ə-ˌpä-kə-ˈlip-tik 

: existing or occurring after a catastrophically destructive disaster or apocalypse

In a postapocalyptic world where nature has become just as violent as humanity …

—Gretchen Crowley

postapocalyptic films [=films that are set in a postapocalyptic world]

postapocalypse

ˌpōst-ə-ˈpä-kə-ˌlips 

noun

The postapocalypse has been trendy for a while, but of late, there seems to be a spate of tales of the end times, and we eat them up.

—Molly Eichel

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey star as Joel and Ellie, who must navigate a postapocalyptic world. —Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 19 Jan. 2023

And there’s Horizon Forbidden West, a lush speculative adventure in which nature has taken over a postapocalyptic United States and Boston Dynamics–esque robot dinosaurs rule the land. —Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2022

The postapocalyptic world of Tom Hanks’s animated web series Electric City (electriccity.yahoo.com) does have power, but in the wake of an unspecified calamity that nearly destroyed civilization, it is strictly rationed. —Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2012

White Noise also contains a mishmash of genres, from academic satire to postapocalyptic disaster movies—thematically similar, maybe, but very different shooting budgets. —Jennifer Wilson, The New Republic, 27 Dec. 2022

The nine-episode show also stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, the smuggler who shepherds her across a postapocalyptic United States. —Abigail Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Dec. 2022

Actors Graham Greene and Elaine Miles play Marlon and Florence, a married couple surviving alone in the wilderness of postapocalyptic Wyoming. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 3 Dec. 2022

Their immediate power came from their uncanny postapocalyptic vision: This is what the world would look like without us. —Jake Pitre, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2022

And as part of the deal, McMurray has set up a series adaptation of Resonant, a postapocalyptic title from Vault Comics. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above