EPOCHAL Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

epochal

adjective

Definition of epochal

as in momentous

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of epochal These are huge, epochal changes for older Americans that have happened in just the past 15 years. — Ken Stern, USA Today, 28 Feb. 2026 In a city willing to displace a community garden or a newsstand to claw back a few extra feet, the Armory’s yawning, epochal emptiness seems like poking through your medicine cabinet and finding an alternate universe behind it. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 Feb. 2026 The whip-smart, late-20th-century retelling of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is one of the most epochal teen rom-coms. — James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026 Chinese thought leaders conceived of the strategy in epochal terms. — Alex Wang, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for epochal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for epochal

Adjective

What to the other parties was merely the sale of a ship was to him a momentous event involving a radically new view of existence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Or what about storming the field, the tradition that follows a momentous win, when order dissolves and players brace themselves for a horde of fans pouring out of the stands.

— Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of momentous

Adjective

This call, the last time the founders would address their company, was an earthshaking moment for a workplace whose leaders inspired so much loyalty that several employees shared matching tattoos with Olguin.

— Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 19 July 2023
It also should be said that the $85 million value of the missing parts matches the price to procure one F-35A fighter—obviously an important sum, but not an earthshaking loss.

— Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 8 June 2023

Definition of earthshaking

Adjective

Several years on from that fateful attack, another shocking act of gun violence forces the estranged sisters back together at the insistence of their defense attorney father (Brendan Gleeson).

— Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
Eleven years before that, Super Bowl XLIX gave us an all-time finish, from Jermaine Kearse’s heavenly juggle to Malcolm Butler’s fateful pick at the goal line.

— Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of fateful

Adjective

There would be cheers and tears and, for a little while, a family overwhelmed by medical appointments and life-and-death worries would get to think about something else.

— Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 5 Sep. 2026
His costly miscalculation exploded into a life-and-death war fiasco that an incompetent and dishonest administration is now incapable of ending.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of life-and-death

Adjective

Most crucial to Barcelona’s long-term outlook is their success in refinancing the huge sums already borrowed to fund the project.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
The timing of the Houthis’ escalation, which began with attacks on Saudi interests in July, is especially significant, given that the Red Sea has become a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi oil during the Iran war.

— April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of crucial

Browse Nearby Words

epoch

epochal

epochs

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Cite this Entry

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“Epochal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epochal. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of epochal

adjective

Example Sentences

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