doomsday

[doomz-dey]

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.

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of doomsday¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of doomsday¹

Old English dōmes dæg Judgment Day; related to Old Norse domsdagr

Example Sentences

When the seed bank first opened, it was seen as a doomsday vault - a back-up store of seeds to safeguard wild plants from extinction.

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Asked last year if he was creating a doomsday bunker, the Facebook founder gave a flat "no".

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Orianna Halloran is a matriarch drunk with power when members of the extended Halloran family receive the strange news that doomsday is nigh, and only their grand house and its occupants will survive.

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That way is Macron's doomsday scenario: another dissolution leading to more elections which Marine Le Pen's National Rally might win this time.

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Hyperbolic comparisons between modern political conflict and the horrific bloodshed of past centuries have previously been the stuff of doomsday prepper threads on Reddit, but this week’s shooting made it a mainstream topic of conversation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times