1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

cataclysm

noun

ˈka-tə-ˌkli-zəm How to pronounce cataclysm (audio)
Definition of cataclysmnext
1
as in flood
a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms an ancient cataclysm that may have been the basis for the Flood described in the Bible

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction the earthquake that struck Lisbon in 1755, killing 30,000 people, was one of the greatest cataclysms ever recorded

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in upheaval
a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order) a social cataclysm that gave rise to a new world order

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 cataclysm And of course, anything living on the site has likely been wiped out by the neighborhood cataclysm. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 31 July 2026 Jacobsen has assembled plenty of relevant precedents for an unprecedented cataclysm. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026 But although few, then, could possibly have foreseen the cataclysm of the twentieth-century wars, the hatred was already there in the anti-semitism of old France, in the divisions over Dreyfus. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026 This was a mini cataclysm for 15,000 USAID workers all around the world. — Fatma Tanis, NPR, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for cataclysm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysm
  1. flood
  2. disaster
  3. upheaval
  4. torrent
  5. catastrophe
  6. revolution
  7. apocalypse
  8. earthquake
Noun
  • The emergency declaration will help coordinate and mobilize supplies and mitigation work across the state, including flood mitigation and snow preparation.
    — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Light floods through the floor-to-ceiling windows of The Pizza Bar on 38th, located inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Nihonbashi.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of flood
Noun
  • Los Angeles County officials aim to break ground on the new Eaton Canyon Nature Center before 2028, with plans to construct a facility that can withstand the region’s changing climate and future disasters.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The Challenger disaster was of course the 1986 explosion of NASA’s eponymous space shuttle shortly after launch, which left all seven crew members dead.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of disaster
Noun
  • As in Pachinko, Lee captures the consequences that systemic historical upheavals visit upon private life.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Last year, Georgia Power proposed and received approval for a historic power grid expansion to support data centers that drew the ire of its customers and led to a political upheaval at the PSC.
    — Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of upheaval
Noun
  • Like the groves and gardens, houses built foolhardily near the dry summertime river risked being pulled off their foundations and washed away by the winter torrents.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • This malicious torrent leads to the download of the malware loader.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of torrent
Noun
  • Sometimes a president doesn’t have to ask for the country’s attention, because catastrophe has already gathered it.
    — John Dickerson, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The catastrophe was a reminder of not only the destructiveness of Israeli bombing, but also the depth of the continuing privation in Gaza today.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • Barring a cultural revolution, its current students will more or less be running the country from about 2045 to 2070.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Alongside this, spurred by the digital revolution, Italian culture is shifting away from solitary individualism towards a rekindled sense of community.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of revolution
Noun
  • His character in Resident Evil serves the opposite role of the normie who simply does not want to acknowledge the unfolding of an apocalypse around him.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Continue reading … Who quit his job and predicted an AI apocalypse?
    — , FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • Sign Up for Our Free Daily Newsletter North Korea’s Mount Mantap is being rocked by earthquakes—and the reason appears to be the pariah state’s nuclear tests.
    — Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The real rate of earthquakes could be higher as the team only included earthquakes detected by multiple monitoring stations but excluded data if only one or two monitoring stations recorded it, Kim said.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of earthquake

Browse Nearby Words

catachrestic
cataclysm
cataclysmal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cataclysm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysm. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All