APOCALYPSE Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

apocalypse

[ uh-pok-uh-lips ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

1. a prophecy or revelation, especially regarding a final cataclysmic battle between good and evil.
2. the apocalypse, in some belief systems, a final cataclysmic battle of this kind, in which evil is defeated and the present age brought to a close:
  According to traditional evangelical teaching, the apocalypse will begin with a time of persecution.
3. the apocalypse, the end of civilization; the complete destruction or collapse of the world as we know it (sometimes used facetiously):
  On both ends of the political spectrum, visions of the apocalypse and predictions of doom abound.
  We thought this recession might be the apocalypse, and sales would go down to 1 percent.
any universal or widespread destruction or disaster:
If humanity is to avoid a nuclear apocalypse, a whole new level of international cooperation is urgently required.
Apocalypse. Revelation ( def 4 ).
any piece of literature belonging to a genre of Jewish or Christian writings that appeared from about 200 b.c. to the late Middle Ages and were assumed to reveal God’s ultimate purpose.

apocalypse

/ əˈ��ɒ��ə��ɪ�� /

noun

a prophetic disclosure or revelation
an event of great importance, violence, etc, like the events described in the Apocalypse

Apocalypse

/ əˈ��ɒ��ə��ɪ�� /

noun

Bible (in the Vulgate and Douay versions of the Bible) the Book of Revelation

Apocalypse

Another name for the New Testament Book of Revelation ; from the Greek word for “revelation.”

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Notes

An “apocalypse” is a final catastrophe.

The Apocalypse is supposed to come at the end of the world or of time.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of apocalypse¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Late Latin apocalypsis, from Greek ��ǰ�á�� “revelation,” from ��ǰ첹��ý��(�ٱ𾱲�) “to uncover, reveal” (from apo- apo- + �첹��ý��ٱ𾱲� “to cover, conceal”; eucalyptus ) + -sis -sis

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of apocalypse¹

C13: from Late Latin apocalypsis, from Greek apokalupsis, from apokaluptein to disclose, from apo- + kaluptein to hide

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

John’s just killing time until the apocalypse arrives.

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His next novel, Vivre, is to be published in May and tells the story of a select group of people who are chosen to colonise a new planet as Earth nears apocalypse.

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Even Japan — yes, that erstwhile empire we politely asked not to conquer the Pacific ever again — has begun since the first Trump administration to stock up on weapons like there is an apocalypse fire sale.

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To an outsider, the scene might sound like an episode of “Storage Wars” — gibberish over a megaphone — and look a bit like a zombie apocalypse.

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They argue America is on the brink of an apocalypse, owing to the rise of equality and what they call "wokeness."

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