What does "doom" mean?
Destiny, especially terrible.
Doom
/duːm/ name, noun, phrase, verb
name, noun, phrase, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Destiny, especially terrible.
- Grammar: doom is listed as name, noun, phrase, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abuse, act on, action, adjudicate.
- Useful contrasts: fortune, grace, hope.
- Usage evidence: Those gloom and doom economists aren't worth their salt.
How to use "doom"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "doom" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "doom" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "doom" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "doom" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "doom" is acting as name, noun, phrase, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abuse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "doom", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Destiny, especially terrible. countable, uncountable
"This, for the night; by day, the web and loom, / And homely houſhold-taſk, ſhall be her doom,"
- 2 an unpleasant or disastrous destiny wordnet
- 3 An undesirable fate; an impending severe occurrence or danger that seems inevitable. countable, uncountable
"unlike Vincent, he wasn't quite taken in by the outbreak of hopefulness on all sides. After all, nothing about the tanks or the process had been resolved; an air of doom still hung undisturbed over the project."
- 4 Dread; a feeling of danger, impending danger, darkness, or despair. countable, uncountable
"She halted her pacing steps as the ugly significance of Nicholas Caulfield's pending arrival washed over her. Ruin. Destitution. Doom settled like a heavy stone in her chest."
- 5 A law. countable, obsolete
""What ye will not that other men should do unto you, that do ye not unto other men." "From this one doom," comments Alfred, "a man may bethink him how he should judge every one rightly: he needs no other doombook.""
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A judgment or decision. countable, obsolete
"And there he learned of things and haps to come, / To give foreknowledge true, and certain doom."
- 7 A sentence or penalty for illegal behaviour. countable, obsolete
"The first dooms of London provide especially the recovery of cattle belonging to the citizens."
- 8 Death. countable, uncountable
"They met an untimely doom when the mineshaft caved in."
- 9 The Last Judgment; or, an artistic representation thereof. capitalized, countable, sometimes, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To pronounce judgment or sentence on; to condemn. transitive
"a criminal doomed to death"
- 2 decree or designate beforehand wordnet
- 3 To destine; to fix irrevocably the ill fate of.
"A man of genius […] doomed to struggle with difficulties."
- 4 make certain of the failure or destruction of wordnet
- 5 To judge; to estimate or determine as a judge. obsolete
"And while we know not that the King of heaven hath not doomed this place our safe retreat"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law wordnet
- 7 To ordain as a penalty; hence, to mulct or fine. obsolete
"Have I tongue to doom my brother's death?"
- 8 To assess a tax upon, by estimate or at discretion. New-England, archaic
Phrase
- 1 Initialism of didn't organize, only moved; used in compounds designating a miscellaneous collection of items which one has failed to properly organize. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
"I tried to organize my stuff but just ended up making a big doom pile."
- 2 Alternative form of doom (“didn't organize, only moved”). alt-of, alternative
Proper Noun
- 1 A popular first-person shooter video game, often regarded as the progenitor of the genre.
"Origin […] have used the canvas of a Doom-like first-person 3-D engine to paint a master work of their own in this comic-book action game."
- 2 Alternative form of Doom. alt-of, alternative
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Those gloom and doom economists aren't worth their salt."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "doom"?
Common synonyms include: abuse, act on, action, adjudicate, afflict, aggrieve.
How do you use "doom" in a sentence?
Those gloom and doom economists aren't worth their salt.
How do you pronounce "doom"?
Pronounced /duːm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English doom, dom, from Old English dōm (“judgement”), from Proto-West Germanic *dōm, from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos. Cognates Compare Dutch doem (“condemnation, doom; judgement”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish dom (“judgement”), Faroese and Icelandic dómur (“judgement”), Gothic 𐌳𐍉𐌼𐍃 (dōms, “insight, judgement”); also Ancient Greek θωμός (thōmós, “heap”), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian ду́ма (dúma, “thought”), Polish duma (“pride”). Doublet of duma. See also deem.
Etymology 2
From doom.