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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Previous cloud-seeding controversies Cloud seeding is now at the center of the rise in weather‑control conspiracy narratives after disasters, such as the tragic Texas floods of 2025 that killed dozens of people, many of them children.
-
Peace emphasized that such disasters have a lasting impact.
Noun
-
The program provides temporary humanitarian relief to people from countries experiencing war, natural disasters or other catastrophes.
-
Swiss Re reports total economic losses from natural catastrophes reached $220 billion in 2025 — with peak-loss scenarios projecting insured losses alone could reach $320 billion in 2026.
Noun
-
Beyond the solidarity such tragedies inspire and the accompanying political rhetoric, Rodríguez has little room to turn away any government willing to lend a hand during this crisis.
-
Recent incidents across North Texas show just how quickly these tragedies unfold and why having a plan matters.
Noun
-
To grade the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their relative natural disaster risks, five measures were developed that account for the frequency and damage of calamities, weighted against population and geographic size.
-
In early times, most humans barely paid attention to weather calamities because the region was so sparsely populated.
Cite this Entry
“Apocalypses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apocalypses. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
