doom
Americannoun
-
fate or destiny, especially adverse fate; unavoidable ill fortune.
In exile and poverty, he met his doom.
-
to fall to one's doom.
-
a judgment, decision, or sentence, especially an unfavorable one.
The judge pronounced the defendant's doom.
- Synonyms:
- fate, ruination, downfall, destruction
-
the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.
-
Obsolete. a statute, enactment, or legal judgment.
verb (used with object)
-
to destine, especially to an adverse fate.
- Synonyms:
- predestine, foreordain
-
to pronounce judgment against; condemn.
-
to ordain or fix as a sentence or fate.
noun
-
death or a terrible fate
-
a judgment or decision
-
(sometimes capital) another term for the Last Judgment
verb
Related Words
See fate.
Other Word Forms
- doomy adjective
- predoom verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of doom
First recorded before 900; Middle English dome, dōm, Old English dōm “judgment, law”; cognate with Old Norse dōmr, “judgment, sentence, court,” Gothic dōms “sentence, fame,” all from Germanic dômaz “what has been set,” from dôn “to set, place, do 1 ( def. ) ”; compare Greek thémis “law” (i.e., “what has been set, laid down”); deem
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It may be a little too early to call "green shoots", but it is also the case that the doom mongering about the UK economy has been overdone too.
From BBC
It was his fault that his daughter was being led to her doom.
From Literature
However, in a market where a viral blog post can wreak havoc, the burden falls on management teams to counter the AI doom by sending clear messaging about their AI strategy.
From MarketWatch
This year has already tested investors with abrupt crash courses on new Anthropic tools that might doom — or complement — software companies, the legal profession, payment systems, banks, cybersecurity and more.
From MarketWatch
By taking on Brontë’s book, Fennell was doomed to stare down millions of overly pedantic literature sticklers, people who prefer their adaptations pure and untainted.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
