apocalypse

[ uh-pok-uh-lips ]
See synonyms for apocalypse on Thesaurus.com
noun
    • a prophecy or revelation, especially regarding a final cataclysmic battle between good and evil.

    • 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.

    • 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.

  1. 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.

  1. Apocalypse. Revelation (def. 4).

  2. 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.

Origin of apocalypse

1
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Late Latin apocalypsis, from Greek apokálypsis “revelation,” from apokalýp(tein) “to uncover, reveal” (from apo- apo- + kalýptein “to cover, conceal”; cf. eucalyptus ) + -sis -sis

word story For apocalypse

Apocalypse comes from Greek apokálypsis “uncovering,” a derivative of the verb apokalýptein “to take the cover off,” a compound whose first element is the preposition and prefix apó, apo- “off, away.” The preposition apó is distantly related to Latin ab “away from,” Sanskrit ápa “away,” and English off and of. The second part of apokalýptein is the simple verb kalýptein “to cover, hide.” Kalýptein may be distantly related to Latin cēlāre “to hide” (the source of English conceal ).
The earliest recorded meaning of apocalypse (in Old English) was in reference to the name of the last book in the New Testament, also called Revelation. It recounts several prophetic visions of upheaval and destruction culminating in the Second Coming of Christ. In Middle English, apocalypse was extended to mean “any revelation or disclosure.” However, the meaning “any disaster or cataclysm” was not recorded until the late 19th century.

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How to use apocalypse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for apocalypse (1 of 2)

apocalypse

/ (əˈpɒkəlɪps) /


noun
  1. a prophetic disclosure or revelation

  2. an event of great importance, violence, etc, like the events described in the Apocalypse

Origin of apocalypse

1
C13: from Late Latin apocalypsis, from Greek apokalupsis, from apokaluptein to disclose, from apo- + kaluptein to hide

British Dictionary definitions for Apocalypse (2 of 2)

Apocalypse

/ (əˈpɒkəlɪps) /


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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Apocalypse

Apocalypse

[ (uh-pok-uh-lips) ]


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

Notes for Apocalypse

An “apocalypse” is a final catastrophe.

Notes for Apocalypse

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.