as in disasters
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
the fear that the next global pandemic could be an apocalypse of biblical proportions
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Recent Examples of apocalypses
Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.
—
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.
—JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
The audience for 2025’s reel of zombie apocalypses lives in a world shaped, in part, by Americans’ refusal to accept an aging Joe Biden’s ineligibility for President.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.
—JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
The audience for 2025’s reel of zombie apocalypses lives in a world shaped, in part, by Americans’ refusal to accept an aging Joe Biden’s ineligibility for President.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apocalypses
Noun
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency will resume staff cuts that were briefly paused during January’s severe winter storm, according to two FEMA managers, stoking concern across the agency over its ability to address disasters with fewer workers.—
Gabriela Aoun Angueira,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
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But bill supporters say more work needs to be done to protect communities from any more railway disasters.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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However, within resources available, countries can build disaster and health response capabilities to mitigate physical and biological catastrophes.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
18 Jan. 2026
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An observer of catastrophes, come what may.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Ensuring safe separation between aircraft is vital to preventing tragedies like the collision over the Potomac River, and reports of serious safety concerns from airline pilots paint a troubling picture of safety over Burbank in particular.—
Marc Scribner,
Oc Register,
8 Feb. 2026
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After many tragedies, the UK’s National Health Service is doing precisely the opposite.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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What Trump is most certainly reviewing is the viability of Noem as a Cabinet secretary, who has rapidly become a scapegoat for the predictable calamities of the high-visibility deployment of border guards as SWAT troops in urban centers.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
27 Jan. 2026
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The calamities of war shuttered many of the earliest kissa, as entire collections of jazz records were lost.—
Nneka M. Okona,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Apocalypses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apocalypses. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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