doomsday

American  

[doomz-dey] / ˈdumzˌdeɪ /

noun

1. Theology. the day of the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.

2. any day of judgment or sentence.

3. nuclear destruction of the world.

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adjective

1. given to or marked by forebodings or predictions of impending calamity; especially concerned with or predicting future universal destruction.

   the doomsday issue of all-out nuclear war.

2. capable of causing widespread or total destruction.

   doomsday weapons.

doomsday British  

/ ˈduːmzˌdeɪ /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the day on which the Last Judgment will occur

2. any day of reckoning

3. (modifier) characterized by predictions of disaster

   doomsday scenario

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Etymology

Origin of doomsday

First recorded before 1000; Middle English domes dai, Old English dōmesdæg “Judgment Day”; equivalent to doom ( def. ) + 's ¹ ( def. ) + day ( def. )

Explanation

In many religions, doomsday is the end of the world and the moment of final judgment. In your everyday life, doomsday might be the date of the final exam in your math class. Doomsday means utter catastrophe, in both religious and secular contexts. Many faiths believe in a literal doomsday, when life as we know it will come to an end. For centuries people have attempted to predict when this will occur, with the most recent guesses including 2011, 2012, and 2021. Generally, a doomsday scenario is any event that could cause human extinction, like catastrophic climate change or an asteroid impact. The Germanic root of doomsday means "judgment day."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doomsday

Collectively, the narrative has shifted from worker-light doomsday scenarios caused by AI to a future in which workers keep their jobs—and get a productivity boost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

But first let's start of with the doomsday scenario.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

To know what this means for you in real dollar terms, you need a sophisticated calculator that can run a doomsday scenario for you against your retirement plan.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

“There’s one person who can stop this doomsday scenario, and that is my friend Chad Bianco,” Hilton said in an Instagram video Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

During those chaotic years, as the basic functioning of Kim Jong Il’s government stalled, think tank experts in the West were writing books with doomsday titles such as The End of North Korea.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden