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
  • These factors make its impacts somewhat of a wild card, experts say, with the effects of global warming acting in concert with El Niño to heighten the severity of heat waves and other disasters.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The organization was created by a group of BBQ pitmasters after the deadly 2011 EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, with the purpose of feeding communities after disasters.
    — Darius Johnson, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of disasters
Noun
  • The contrast is a reminder of the differences between the neighboring nations — their political systems, resources and the strength of their institutions — and a demonstration of how those can take on life-or-death importance in catastrophes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, envisions building space habitats that could house billions as a solution to environmental catastrophes on Earth.
    — Marissa E. Yingling, The Conversation, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of catastrophes
Noun
  • One of the tragedies of modern MLB ballparks has been losing their iconic features.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026
  • 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
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 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on apocalypses

Nglish: Translation of apocalypses for Spanish Speakers

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