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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cataclysms
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
In the early 2000s, scientists first saw these conspicuous cataclysms, which can shine much longer and be more than 10 times brighter than a normal supernova.
—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
11 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
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
In the early 2000s, scientists first saw these conspicuous cataclysms, which can shine much longer and be more than 10 times brighter than a normal supernova.
—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
11 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
Noun
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In the past, it's been falsely linked with everything from hurricanes to floods, wildfires and alien abductions.
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Deadly floods are common in parts of Africa, which is among the regions most vulnerable to extreme weather events despite being responsible for a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Noun
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Cheap financial capital has flooded into the industry, lowering the cost of protecting against disasters, but Bäte thinks the trend cannot continue forever.
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City leaders recognize the difficulty for families and communities dealing with vacant disasters.
Noun
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The cyclical reality awaiting ‘naive capital’ Allianz is far from the only insurer to have prospered through recent upheavals.
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Not every government will experience Ethiopia’s dramatic upheavals.
Noun
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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.
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Heavy rainfall in the area caused torrents and increased the risk of landslides, making rescue operations more difficult, state media said.
Noun
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The program provides temporary humanitarian relief to people from countries experiencing war, natural disasters or other catastrophes.
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Swiss Re reports total economic losses from natural catastrophes reached $220 billion in 2025 — with peak-loss scenarios projecting insured losses alone could reach $320 billion in 2026.
Noun
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Alfonzo’s younger sister, Eliana, and stepmother, Patricia, have been missing since last month when earthquakes caused widespread devastation in his home country of Venezuela.
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It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.
Noun
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Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.
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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.
Noun
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There have been few comments about improvements or calamities, other than the usual notes that battery life was reduced immediately after installation, which is commonplace.
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To grade the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their relative natural disaster risks, five measures were developed that account for the frequency and damage of calamities, weighted against population and geographic size.
Cite this Entry
“Cataclysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysms. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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