apocalypses

noun

plural of apocalypse
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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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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apocalypses
  1. disasters
  2. catastrophes
  3. tragedies
  4. calamities
Noun
  • Next week, for the first time ever, Taiwan will deliberately slow its mobile internet speed, testing how citizens would communicate if bandwidth becomes scarce in emergencies ranging ⁠from disasters to a Chinese invasion.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Some of Europe’s biggest insurance companies told CNBC this week that the region isn’t adequately prepared to deal with the risks of wildfires and weather disasters, leaving a substantial share of financial damage uninsured.
    — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of disasters
Noun
  • Of course, this growing mass constitutes a serious threat to the ocean ecosystem, not to mention the environmental catastrophes regularly caused by tanker accidents themselves.
    — Alexander Klose, Scientific American, 24 July 2026
  • Insurance is a risk mitigation product, and insurance carriers may choose not to renew with you in case of sustained catastrophes.
    — Kumar Rupesh, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of catastrophes
Noun
  • Seemingly disconnected except by my mother’s witness, these two events illustrate how tragedies can galvanize change.
    — Dr. Marianne Parshley, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
  • There are also now safety measures being proposed along the river to prevent future tragedies.
    — Andrew Ramos, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of tragedies
Noun
  • That’s been the story of this third season, one that started with Rhaenyra storming the castle and taking the Iron Throne and then promptly saw her get picked apart by dozens of unforeseen calamities.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Yoon drew extensively on these themes in his earlier works—most recently in the novel Run Me to Earth and the Story Prize–winning collection The Hive and the Honey—and his oeuvre depicts war’s psychological and material calamities.
    — Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of calamities

Browse Nearby Words

apocalypse
apocalypses
apocalyptic
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Cite this Entry

“Apocalypses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apocalypses. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on apocalypses

Nglish: Translation of apocalypses for Spanish Speakers

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