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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
-
Extreme floods that once swamped coastal communities only rarely are becoming far more common as climate change caused by humans pushes sea levels higher, according to new research.—
Alexa St. John,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
-
Gulf Coast states already dealing with massive floods are bracing for even more extreme weather as the first tropical storm of the season could form as early as Tuesday night.—
Kenton Gewecke,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Hanging Lake Trail in Glenwood Canyon CBS The project, led by a partnership of federal, state and local organizations, was designed to create a trail capable of withstanding future disasters while preserving the experience that has made Hanging Lake one of Colorado's most popular destinations.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
-
And some satellites are even able to watch over humanmade disasters, such as this one that caught Blue Origin's rocket explosion from space.—
Monisha Ravisetti,
Space.com,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Earth-impacting shrapnel from those primordial upheavals may have helped seed our planet with the precursors for life, delivering water and organic compounds from the dark, icy depths of the outer solar system.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
18 June 2026
-
Miniature upheavals by the courthouse steps.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Heavy rainfall in the area caused torrents and increased the risk of landslides, making rescue operations more difficult, state media said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 May 2026
-
Spring rains and winter snowmelt have swelled rivers and lakes, forcing torrents of water through Cheboygan County communities on its way to Lake Huron.—
Sarah Brumfield,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Horrible things happen all the time, crises and catastrophes that defy language and imagination.—
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
-
Then there were climate catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina, the normalization of active shooter drills at their schools and a worldwide pandemic.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
19 June 2026
-
Dani provides the voiceover, filled with strained metaphors about earthquakes and sermons on the importance of summer, but the pretense that the dialogue is taken from his interrogation is quickly abandoned.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
19 June 2026
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.—
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
-
In early times, most humans barely paid attention to weather calamities because the region was so sparsely populated.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
-
Madonna has made music through various calamities that at the time felt world-ending — wars, political unrest, financial collapse — so the terrors of 2026 don’t seem to faze her.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cataclysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysms. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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