Apocalyptic Meaning
/əˈpɒ.kə.lɪp.tɪk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf or relating to an apocalypse:
adjOf or relating to an apocalypse:, Revelatory; prophetic.
Sentence Examples
Outside the mainstream of orthodox Judaism, the apocalyptic books were more successful with certain movements.
He described the current situation as apocalyptic.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ storm left the entire coastline unrecognizable and destroyed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The city looked ____ after the powerful storm had passed through.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin apocalypticus, from Ancient Greek ἀποκαλυπτικός (apokaluptikós, “revelatory”), from ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”), from ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō, “to reveal, uncover”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Let him go and make, and burn, a pile or two [of bricks] with his own hands; he will thereby receive apocalyptic visions of a nature novel to his soul."
— 1876, John Ruskin, “Letter LXIV”, in Fors Clavigera. Letters to the Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain, volume VI, Orpington, Kent: George Allen, →OCLC, page 116:
"From beginning to end, and throughout, the Gospel makes such frequent use of apocalyptic motifs and the apocalyptic viewpoint that it deserves to be called the apocalyptic Gospel.""
— 1985, Donald A. Hagner, Apocalyptic Motifs in the Gospel of Matthew: Continuity and Discontinuity, page 92:
"This was because apocalyptic stories — from the Greek word apohalupsis which means "reveal" — uses the vocabulary of symbols and numbers and contains concealed messages that secular listeners cannot comprehend."
— 2002, Peter W. Smith, In the Day of the Lord: The Exciting and Promised Fulfillment, page 7:
"“It’s true that as I walk out of my house in a nice quiet street and go to a nice cafe five minutes’ walk away, I have no reason to have these apocalyptic musings.”"
— 2019 November 3, Andrew Anthony, quoting David Mitchell, “David Mitchell: ‘I have no reason to have these apocalyptic musings’”, in The Observer, →ISSN:
"For the first time since the show began, a sense of utter loneliness overwhelmed me, a bitter despair at the uselessness of individual effort in this gigantic tragedy of apocalyptic destruction."
— 1919, Arthur Hamilton Gibbs, Gun Fodder: The Diary of Four Years of War, Little, Brown, page 276:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ storm left the entire coastline unrecognizable and destroyed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The city looked ____ after the powerful storm had passed through.