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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysms
Noun
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At a hearing in late July, the Texas House and Senate Committees heard that 137 people had died as a result of the floods, with two people still missing.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025 -
After spending months in a FEMA trailer following devastating floods last winter, Caudill moved into a low-income apartment in a hollow outside of town with his partner, Cassie Collins, 31, a waitress who is recovering from substance abuse.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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On Tuesday, 85 scientists released a 459-page rebuttal to the DOE report, highlighting a large body of scientific literature pointing to how climate change can exacerbate droughts, floods, crop failures, and other disasters.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Sep. 2025
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Greengrass viewed the story of The Lost Bus through a similar lens, following a micro, primal cinematic story of survival that was ultimately about what these disasters mean on a macro level.—
Tomris Laffly,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Not only have students been impacted by political upheavals in higher education, but faculty members have faced an unpredictable professional landscape as well.—
Christopher Rim,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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The drama about a Turkish college professor facing major upheavals on two home fronts bowed at Sundance and stars Ekin Koc, Erkan Kolçak Kostendil, Hazar Erguclu and Ercan Kesal.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Flash floods are usually characterized by raging torrents after heavy rains.—
AZCentral.com,
AZCentral.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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The valley floor hums with cowbells and the distant whir of paragliders circling above alpine meadows—as Trümmelbach’s glacial torrents roar through limestone caverns.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Sagan described another major pathway to unintended nuclear catastrophes.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
2 Sep. 2025
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The organization then uses those precogs — and Luke is one of them — to prevent global catastrophes at the expense of children's lives.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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However, large earthquakes can strike on active faults thousands of years apart.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The audience for 2025’s reel of zombie apocalypses lives in a world shaped, in part, by Americans’ refusal to accept an aging Joe Biden’s ineligibility for President.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
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After tragedies or natural disasters, fake nonprofits or misleading crowdfunding campaigns pop up online, siphoning donations away from legitimate causes.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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For some people within the agency, the multiple safety reviews for NASA missions are a necessary safeguard after the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia tragedies.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
5 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Cataclysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysms. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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