apocalyptic
[uh-pok-uh-lip-tik]
- of or like an apocalypse; affording a revelation or prophecy.
- pertaining to the Apocalypse or biblical book of Revelation.
- predicting or presaging imminent disaster and total or universal destruction: the apocalyptic vision of some contemporary writers.
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Also a·poc·a·lyp·ti·cal.
Origin of apocalyptic
1620–30; < Late Greek apokalýptikos, equivalent to apokalýpt(ein) to uncover, disclose (see apocalypse) + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for apocalyptic
Contemporary Examples
And it merely delayed the apocalyptic maelstrom that followed rather than preventing it.
At DoD he ran around with his hair practically on fire denouncing cuts to the defense budget in out-sized, apocalyptic terms.
And I also have lots of apocalyptic dreams, including warfare.
Carrie Coon on ‘The Leftovers,’ That Wild Finale, Her Apocalyptic Visions, and ‘Gone Girl’Marlow Stern
September 9, 2014
Until, of course, one of them diverges into an apocalyptic battle for species dominance.
But as you start building an apocalyptic bunker, don't forget who's to blame for this increasingly dangerous behavior.
Historical Examples
Saint John's apocalyptic vision is realized; there is "no more sea."
The ArenaVarious
It was poetry and the drama, and processions and apocalyptic visions.
Wayside CourtshipsHamlin Garland
The work of Art is apocalyptic of the artist's own personality.
Introduction to Robert BrowningHiram Corson
It has not the prolixity which is so common a fault of apocalyptic commentators.
A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I (of II)Augustus De Morgan
In the apocalyptic style of the housekeeper of Invermay, woe be to that person!
Records of a Family of EngineersRobert Louis Stevenson
apocalyptic
- outstanding in revelation, prophecy, or significance
- of or like an apocalypse
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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
Word Origin and History for apocalyptic
adj.
1660s, "pertaining to the 'Revelation of St. John' in the New Testament," from Greek apokalyptikos, from apokalyptein (see apocalypse). Meaning "pertaining to the imminent end of the world" evolved by 1880s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper