Apocalyptic
adj, noun ·5 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 One who predicts apocalypse.
- 1 Of or relating to an apocalypse:; Revelatory; prophetic. not-comparable
"Let him go and make, and burn, a pile or two [of bricks] with his own hands; he will thereby receive apocalyptic visions of a nature novel to his soul."
- 2 Of or relating to an apocalypse:; Catastrophic; disastrous. figuratively, not-comparable
"For the first time since the show began, a sense of utter loneliness overwhelmed me, a bitter despair at the uselessness of individual effort in this gigantic tragedy of apocalyptic destruction."
- 3 Portending a future apocalypse (disaster, devastation, or doom). not-comparable
"Submissions on the part of gay teachers and students and organizations were countered by apocalyptic denunciations on the part of Bible-toting mothers and fathers expertly organized by the right."
- 4 Catachresis for apoplectic. not-comparable
"He was apocalyptically furious."
- 1 prophetic of devastation or ultimate doom wordnet
- 2 of or relating to an apocalypse wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Outside the mainstream of orthodox Judaism, the apocalyptic books were more successful with certain movements."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin apocalypticus, from Ancient Greek ἀποκαλυπτικός (apokaluptikós, “revelatory”), from ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”), from ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō, “I reveal, uncover”).
Related phrases
More for "apocalyptic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.