holocaust
[ hol-uh-kawst, hoh-luh- ]
/ ˈhɒl əˌkɔst, ˈhoʊ lə- /
noun
a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.
a sacrifice completely consumed by fire; burnt offering.
(usually initial capital letter) the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (usually preceded by the).
any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life.
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a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.
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a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.
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SYNONYMS FOR holocaust
OTHER WORDS FROM holocaust
hol·o·caus·tal, adjectivehol·o·caus·tic, adjectiveWords nearby holocaust
holo-, holobenthic, holoblastic, holocaine, holocarpic, holocaust, holocene, holocord, holocrine, holocrine gland, holocrystalline
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for holocaust
British Dictionary definitions for holocaust
holocaust
/ (ˈhɒləˌkɔːst) /
noun
great destruction or loss of life or the source of such destruction, esp fire
Also called: the Churban, the Shoah (usually capital) the mass murder of Jews and members of many other ethnic, social, and political groups in continental Europe between 1940 and 1945 by the Nazi regime
a rare word for burnt offering
Derived forms of holocaust
holocaustal or holocaustic, adjectiveWord Origin for holocaust
C13: from Late Latin holocaustum whole burnt offering, from Greek holokauston, from holo- + kaustos, from kaiein to burn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Cultural definitions for holocaust
Holocaust
[ (hol-uh-kawst, hoh-luh-kawst) ]
The killing of some six million Jews (see also Jews) by the Nazis during World War II. To the Nazis, the Holocaust was the “Final Solution” to the “Jewish problem,” and would help them establish a pure German master race. Much of the killing took place in concentration camps, such as Auschwitz and Dachau. (See Adolf Eichmann and Heinrich Himmler.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.