cataclysms

noun

plural of cataclysm
1
as in floods
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

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2
as in disasters
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

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

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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 cataclysms These include supernovae and other cataclysms, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), some of which arise from colliding black holes or neutron stars and are among the most powerful explosions in the universe. — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 July 2026 These cataclysms locked inside the Delaware Basin more than 46 billion barrels of technically recoverable crude oil, and 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. — Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026 And star-formation will continue for trillions of years, providing new lights in the sky and new chances for cataclysms like supernovae, kilonovae, and tidal disruption events. — Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026 At the universe's grandest scales, galaxy clusters collide in slow-motion cataclysms, leaving behind immense, ghostly arcs — vast ribbons of diffuse radio emissions that can stretch across millions of light-years. — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysms
  1. floods
  2. disasters
  3. upheavals
  4. torrents
  5. catastrophes
  6. earthquakes
  7. apocalypses
  8. calamities
Noun
  • Forecasters warned the worst may not yet be over for some Midwesterners, as rivers continued to swell Thursday in states previously struck by this week's floods.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its most severe warning for heavy rain in 14 municipalities in the Chiba prefecture, warning residents of floods and landslides.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of floods
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
  • Like many in his generation Zhu’s early career was upended by the political upheavals of the Mao Zedong era.
    — CNN Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • From technological upheavals to an increasingly frenetic global trend cycle, industry leaders are constantly tasked with predicting what comes next — which is no small feat in 2026.
    — Sophie Lou Wilson, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of upheavals
Noun
  • Most of the deaths were in Hengzhou, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam sent torrents of water into the city and claimed 26 lives, said Ding Wei, the vice mayor of Nanning city, which has jurisdiction over the area.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • One significant problem, however, is that red dwarfs spit out harmful torrents of radiation in fierce gusts of their stellar winds, which can strip away a planet's atmosphere.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of torrents
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
  • The country, which has been under the complete control of the Taliban, has also experienced deadly strikes from Pakistan, earthquakes and widespread hunger and malnutrition.
    — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The region experiences frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as large blocks of the Earth’s crust collide.
    — Christine Valora, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of earthquakes
Noun
  • 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, JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
Definition of apocalypses
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

cataclysmal
cataclysms
catacomb
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Cite this Entry

“Cataclysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysms. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of cataclysms for Spanish Speakers

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