apocalypse
noun
apoc·a·lypse
ə-ˈpä-kə-ˌlips 
plural apocalypses
1
a
: one of the Jewish and Christian writings of 200 b.c. to a.d. 150 marked by pseudonymity, symbolic imagery, and the expectation of an imminent cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil and raises the righteous to life in a messianic kingdom
b
capitalized
: revelation sense 3
2
a
: something viewed as a prophetic revelation
b
3
a
: a large, disastrous fire : inferno
Most foresters agree that small, "prescribed" burns, carefully controlled, are essential to prevent the larger apocalypse.—
Lance Morrow
Lance Morrow
b
: a great disaster
an environmental apocalypse
Examples of apocalypse in a Sentence
His book tells of an environmental apocalypse.
the fear that the next global pandemic could be an apocalypse of biblical proportions
Recent Examples on the Web
If the answer was yes, then the jobs apocalypse might arrive sooner than even Amodei had predicted.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 27 June 2025
Like yesterday, and the days before, she is interred in the ground up to her waist, the afterthought of some unnamed apocalypse.
—Han Ong, New Yorker, 22 June 2025
There’s a third reminder, too: One person’s eyeroll is another’s shattering and beautiful reminder that life is beautiful, maybe harsh and sometimes lonely and full of wrong turns with a possible apocalypse looming.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025
The film, as per the press notes, redefines human fears in the face of apocalypse in a contemporary dystopia that puts Black and Indigenous characters at the center of a story about people defending their land from those who would kill them for it without a second thought.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for apocalypse
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Billy Perrigo, Time, 27 June 2025
Like yesterday, and the days before, she is interred in the ground up to her waist, the afterthought of some unnamed apocalypse.
—Han Ong, New Yorker, 22 June 2025
There’s a third reminder, too: One person’s eyeroll is another’s shattering and beautiful reminder that life is beautiful, maybe harsh and sometimes lonely and full of wrong turns with a possible apocalypse looming.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025
The film, as per the press notes, redefines human fears in the face of apocalypse in a contemporary dystopia that puts Black and Indigenous characters at the center of a story about people defending their land from those who would kill them for it without a second thought.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for apocalypse
Cite this Entry
“Apocalypse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apocalypse. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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