variants
or cataclysmic
1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a cataclysmal decision to plunge the nation into war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a cataclysmal landslide that virtually wiped out the village
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysmal
Adjective
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Or, even more recently, the disastrous April 8 update to protect against the CVE-2025-21204 vulnerability that installed a mysterious folder, and got everyone’s collective conspiracy theory panties in a bunch.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025 -
Democrats have been grappling with their own version of that resolution, especially ever since the disastrous defeat of their party’s presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, in November.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Memories are fresh here of the devastating two quakes in southern Turkey in 2023.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
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With devastating indifference, President Donald Trump and his special assistant Elon Musk have crippled Food for Peace, a program few Americans have heard of, but one that did tremendous good for over six decades.—
Made by History,
Time,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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That might be the ultimate takeaway for leaders navigating turbulent times.—
Karl Moore,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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Which brings me to another important lesson from turbulent times: market timing (still) does not work.—
Jill Schlesinger,
Mercury News,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Across all suicide attempts not involving a firearm, only 4% result in death; but for firearm suicide, approximately 90% of attempts are fatal.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
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That stretch proved to be fatal for the Heat, as the Cavaliers extended their lead to nine with 16.9 seconds to play and put the game away before Miami scored again following this rough late-game span.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Cataclysmal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysmal. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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