CATACLYSMS Synonyms: 128 Similar and Opposite Words

cataclysms

noun

plural of cataclysm

as in floods

a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms an ancient cataclysm that may have been the basis for the Flood described in the Bible

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as in disasters

a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction the earthquake that struck Lisbon in 1755, killing 30,000 people, was one of the greatest cataclysms ever recorded

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in upheavals

a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order) a social cataclysm that gave rise to a new world order

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cataclysms And star-formation will continue for trillions of years, providing new lights in the sky and new chances for cataclysms like supernovae, kilonovae, and tidal disruption events. — Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026 At the universe's grandest scales, galaxy clusters collide in slow-motion cataclysms, leaving behind immense, ghostly arcs — vast ribbons of diffuse radio emissions that can stretch across millions of light-years. — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025 These include supernovae and other cataclysms, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), some of which arise from colliding black holes or neutron stars and are among the most powerful explosions in the universe. — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 July 2026 These cataclysms locked inside the Delaware Basin more than 46 billion barrels of technically recoverable crude oil, and 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. — Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cataclysms

Noun

In the past, it's been falsely linked with everything from hurricanes to floods, wildfires and alien abductions.

— Emma Woollacott, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Deadly floods are common in parts of Africa, which is among the regions most vulnerable to extreme weather events despite being responsible for a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026

Definition of floods

Noun

Cheap financial capital has flooded into the industry, lowering the cost of protecting against disasters, but Bäte thinks the trend cannot continue forever.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 3 July 2026
City leaders recognize the difficulty for families and communities dealing with vacant disasters.

— Bryant Reed, CBS News, 2 July 2026

Definition of disasters

Noun

One significant problem, however, is that red dwarfs spit out harmful torrents of radiation in fierce gusts of their stellar winds, which can strip away a planet's atmosphere.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 2 July 2026
Heavy rainfall in the area caused torrents and increased the risk of landslides, making rescue operations more difficult, state media said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 May 2026

Definition of torrents

Noun

Prominent voices fear that the end result of the transformative technology is a job bloodbath and national security catastrophes, while others believe a new era of productivity is ready to be unlocked, with society living longer and healthier lives.

— Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 July 2026
Healthcare registers the effects of climate catastrophes, ecosystem failures and food shortages that also fuel political and social crises.

— Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Definition of catastrophes

Noun

Alfonzo’s younger sister, Eliana, and stepmother, Patricia, have been missing since last month when earthquakes caused widespread devastation in his home country of Venezuela.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.

— CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 5 July 2026

Definition of earthquakes

Noun

Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.

— JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025

Definition of apocalypses

Noun

There have been few comments about improvements or calamities, other than the usual notes that battery life was reduced immediately after installation, which is commonplace.

— David Phelan, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
To grade the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their relative natural disaster risks, five measures were developed that account for the frequency and damage of calamities, weighted against population and geographic size.

— Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 21 June 2026

Definition of calamities

Browse Nearby Words

cataclysmal

cataclysms

catacomb

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“Cataclysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cataclysms. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of cataclysms

noun

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