What does "cataclysmic" mean?

Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.

What is a synonym for "cataclysmic"?

Common synonyms include: cataclysmal, catastrophic, devastating, baneful, black, calamitous.

How do you pronounce "cataclysmic"?

Pronounced //ˌkætəˈklɪzmɪk//.

Cataclysmic

//ˌkætəˈklɪzmɪk// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.
"It is believed that a cataclysmic impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs."

Adjective

1
severely destructive wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

cataclysmal catastrophic devastating baneful black calamitous

Example

More examples

"Mark Halperin, a documentary film maker, said: "Outside of the U.S. Civil War and World War II but including the attacks of September 11, the election of Donald Trump may be the most cataclysmic event this country has ever seen.""

Etymology

From cataclysm + -ic.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.