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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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Recent Examples of cataclysms
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
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysms
Noun
-
When heavy rain occurs, there is a potential for flooding, particularly in areas that are low-lying or prone to floods.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
18 Feb. 2026
-
As more of Kerrville’s four-legged community members were rescued, Kerrville Pets Alive began working alongside search-and-rescue teams to help retrieve animals who had died during the floods.—
Lesdy Hernandez,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In 2024, the country experienced 27 separate billion-dollar disasters, totaling roughly $183 billion, up from nearly $93 billion the year before.—
Yoca Arditi-Rocha,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Feb. 2026
-
This designation places the mission on the same official level of seriousness as the fatal Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2023) shuttle disasters.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But land does offer a hedge against inflation, diversification against economic upheavals, and provides a certainty that isn’t available with assets whose value can evaporate in a short time span, like Washington Mutual or Enron.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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Last year, the global development sector faced enormous upheavals, with the United States and other donor countries slashing aid budgets even as low-income countries struggled with debt burdens.—
Reem Alabali Radovan,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In 2017, soaking storms led to flooding that caused $100 million in damage in downtown San Jose and the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people when the spillway at Oroville Dam, the nation’s tallest dam, in Butte County, partially collapsed under torrents of water.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Without intervention, water flows off the steep slopes in torrents, rapidly stripping away soil.—
Stephen Acabado,
The Conversation,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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While Scarry’s books present such catastrophes with bright colors and good humor, Gomez undermines this cheer by superimposing on the mural a nearly all-black painting of a desolate tent encampment in front of a home destroyed by the Eaton fire.—
Sharon Mizota,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Kennedy has made no bones about his misplaced skepticism of mRNA vaccines, pinging off the proliferating conspiracies around the COVID vaccines — incredible innovations that saved countless lives during one of the worst global catastrophes in recent memory.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Avalanches are rapid, massive slides of snow, ice, rock and soil that can be caused by storms, earthquakes or snowpack deterioration.—
Ramon Padilla,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
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
Noun
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What Trump is most certainly reviewing is the viability of Noem as a Cabinet secretary, who has rapidly become a scapegoat for the predictable calamities of the high-visibility deployment of border guards as SWAT troops in urban centers.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
27 Jan. 2026
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The calamities of war shuttered many of the earliest kissa, as entire collections of jazz records were lost.—
Nneka M. Okona,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cataclysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysms. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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