variants
or cataclysmic
1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a cataclysmal decision to plunge the nation into war
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a cataclysmal landslide that virtually wiped out the village
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in turbulent
marked by sudden or violent disturbance
the French Revolution was one of the great cataclysmal events in modern history
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Recent Examples of cataclysmal
Characteristically, Czernowin’s control of timbre, texture, and structure yields a kind of cataclysmic grandeur.
—
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Opta’s supercomputer has stayed strong on the current projections for Leeds and Forest, with their respective victories last weekend suggesting that something cataclysmic would need to happen for them to get sucked back into a relegation fight.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 11 May 2026
By early June, ash and lava were escaping Pinatubo’s flanks, and an evacuation was ordered, just a few days before the cataclysmic hammer fell.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
The finale did keep the Grey’s tradition by kicking things off with a cataclysmic event when a major Seattle bridge collapsed.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 7 May 2026
Everyone experiences moments of existential despair, when one bad day or cataclysmic event sends you into a headspace that’s some combination of panic and self-reflection.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 3 May 2026
So cataclysmic was their breakup that in all that time, Sam has never once listened to Mother Mary’s music.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026
The pink cloud at the center of the shot is the Homunculus Nebula, a vast glowing structure of interstellar dust and gas 7,500 light-years from Earth, according to NASA, created in the wake of a cataclysmic eruption of the double star system Eta Carinae.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Iran has pledged to retaliate against such facilities in Israel, meaning the entire Middle East may be on the brink of cataclysmic doom — with or without the terrifying prospect of nuclear strikes.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Opta’s supercomputer has stayed strong on the current projections for Leeds and Forest, with their respective victories last weekend suggesting that something cataclysmic would need to happen for them to get sucked back into a relegation fight.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 11 May 2026
By early June, ash and lava were escaping Pinatubo’s flanks, and an evacuation was ordered, just a few days before the cataclysmic hammer fell.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
The finale did keep the Grey’s tradition by kicking things off with a cataclysmic event when a major Seattle bridge collapsed.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 7 May 2026
Everyone experiences moments of existential despair, when one bad day or cataclysmic event sends you into a headspace that’s some combination of panic and self-reflection.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 3 May 2026
So cataclysmic was their breakup that in all that time, Sam has never once listened to Mother Mary’s music.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026
The pink cloud at the center of the shot is the Homunculus Nebula, a vast glowing structure of interstellar dust and gas 7,500 light-years from Earth, according to NASA, created in the wake of a cataclysmic eruption of the double star system Eta Carinae.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Iran has pledged to retaliate against such facilities in Israel, meaning the entire Middle East may be on the brink of cataclysmic doom — with or without the terrifying prospect of nuclear strikes.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysmal
Adjective
-
Stearns had nothing to do with any of them — and everything to do with the disastrous offseason that made the Mets the worst team in baseball for most of April.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
-
Based on a script by Justin Varava that made the 2024 Black List, Turpentine follows a deadbeat son who hires friends to rob his own parents to pay off a bookie, with disastrous results.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Nearly all industrial hydrogen is currently produced by stripping it from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, a process that emits devastating amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
18 May 2026
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Putin has claimed that Oreshnik’s multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can’t be intercepted, and that several such missiles used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Inside, another naked woman on a Jet Ski does circles in a turbulent body of water.—
Sebastian Smee,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2026
-
The shift has direct market implications, Dalio said, as investors must navigate a turbulent period where currency values face risk and uncertainty demands liquidity and diversification including gold.—
David Westin,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
Adjective
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Graham himself would also be out of luck if past Trump criticism were always politically fatal.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
19 May 2026
-
Moments after a security guard broke up the beating and the teenagers scattered, the 13-year-old came upon David and his girlfriend at the fountain plaza next to the theaters where the fatal stabbing took place.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
However, Cincinnati and Washington have been done in by unfortunate injuries and organizational disorder.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
The unfortunate problem is that, like most other things, the system can be gamed—people could submit flawed content that lists people as authors who have never been involved.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 May 2026
-
In late March a teen takeover in Hyde Park turned destructive, badly damaging cars.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
In July 1997, parts of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic were struck by catastrophic river flooding that left more than 100 people dead.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
14 May 2026
-
Blake scrambles back to prevent the catastrophic, but the shot flies over the bar.—
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cataclysmal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysmal. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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