EPOCHAL Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

epochal

adjective

Definition of epochal

as in momentous

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

The three momentous events stand on their own, detached enough to seem entirely unrelated.

— Vahe Gregorian July 4, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026
At the time, this seemed like the more momentous day, as John Adams wrote in a letter to his wife Abigail on July 3.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 July 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

Solid performances from the supporting cast include Lucas Prizant as Hamlet’s loyal friend, Horatio, and Brenna DiStasio as Laertes, his opponent in the finale’s fateful duel.

— Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
An interception at the airport, or had any of the other fateful chances of 9/11 happened a slightly different way.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Definition of fateful

Adjective

For our hunter-gatherer ancestors, getting enough of these critical nutrients was a daily life-and-death struggle.

— Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 17 June 2026
The life-and-death stakes were raised when the former high school series jumped five years to show a now-young adult Rue becoming a drug mule and working for rival kingpins (Martha Kelly’s Laurie also took her own life in the finale).

— Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026

Definition of life-and-death

Adjective

Both are well in the hunt for the World Cup’s Golden Boot award, having scored crucial winning goals for their countries almost every step of the way.

— Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 11 July 2026
The pieces of it that Weiden shares with us, including a passage about Native athletes’ crucial role in the early history of the sport of football, are eye-opening.

— Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 10 July 2026

Definition of crucial

Browse Nearby Words

epoch

epochal

epochs

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“Epochal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epochal. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of epochal

adjective

Example Sentences

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Cite this Entry

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