apocalyptic
Signaling total destruction
Apocalyptic describes total destruction or catastrophic upheaval: apocalyptic scenes of devastation, an apocalyptic wildfire.
The word derives from religious prophecies about the end of the world, particularly the biblical Book of Revelation.
Something apocalyptic suggests not just disaster but finality—the collapse of civilization or existence itself.
The tone is often dramatic or hyperbolic: My inbox is apocalyptic right now.
Sudden ruinous event
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
meteor · pandemic · collapse · famine · tsunami · earthquake · volcano · inferno
Foretelling of future events
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
- seerOne who envisions futures
- visionAbility to see
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
omen · harbinger · foretelling · divination · augury · portent · soothsayer · sibyl
Prophetic biblical finale
- ArmageddonProphesied ultimate conflict
- AntichristProphesied opponent of Christ
- TribulationProphesied time of judgment
- BeastWild or savage animal
Babylon · End Times · New Jerusalem · Millennium · Wormwood · Whore of Babylon · Book of Daniel
Spiritual or physical regeneration
- renewalMaking current again
- new worldRecently discovered realm
- metamorphosisProfound biological restructuring
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
awakening · genesis · resurrection · new beginning · paradigm shift · upheaval · revolution · cleansing
Fearful anticipation of harm
- doomUnavoidable grim fate
- grimHarsh and foreboding
- bleakDreary and without cheer
- direExtremely serious or urgent
menacing · sinister · dark · dread · portentous · looming · shadowy · eerie
Uninhabitable barren region
- survivorOne still alive after
- bunkerReinforced subterranean stronghold
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- scavengerSeeker of refuse
fallout · dystopia · rebuilding · remnant · aftermath · desolation · scorched earth · radiation
Norse end of days
- FimbulwinterMythic pre-apocalyptic freeze
- FenrirMythic bound wolf
- Mayan calendarMesoamerican astronomical dating system
- ShivaHindu god of dissolution
Norse · Zoroastrian · twilight of gods · cosmic cycle · Vishnu
disaster
Sudden ruinous event
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
annihilation · meteor · pandemic · collapse · famine · tsunami · earthquake · volcano · inferno · deluge
prophecy
Foretelling of future events
revelation · omen · harbinger · foretelling · divination · augury · portent · soothsayer · sibyl · precognition
Revelation
Prophetic biblical finale
- ArmageddonProphesied ultimate conflict
- AntichristProphesied opponent of Christ
- TribulationProphesied time of judgment
Beast · Babylon · End Times · New Jerusalem · Millennium · Wormwood · Whore of Babylon · Book of Daniel
rebirth
Spiritual or physical regeneration
- renewalMaking current again
- new worldRecently discovered realm
- metamorphosisProfound biological restructuring
revelation · awakening · genesis · resurrection · new beginning · paradigm shift · upheaval · revolution · cleansing · purification
foreboding
Fearful anticipation of harm
dire · menacing · sinister · dark · dread · portentous · looming · shadowy · eerie · chilling
wasteland
Uninhabitable barren region
- survivorOne still alive after
- bunkerReinforced subterranean stronghold
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
scavenger · fallout · dystopia · rebuilding · remnant · aftermath · desolation · scorched earth · radiation · mutant
Ragnarok
Norse end of days
- FimbulwinterMythic pre-apocalyptic freeze
- FenrirMythic bound wolf
- Mayan calendarMesoamerican astronomical dating system
Shiva · Norse · Zoroastrian · twilight of gods · cosmic cycle · Vishnu
- speculative fictionsci-fi, science fiction, dystopia, fantasy, futurism
- dramatic tonesintense, tense, suspenseful, ominous, foreboding
- genre adjectivescomic, tragic, dramatic, epic, gothic
- media descriptorsdramatic, thrilling, suspenseful, emotional, atmospheric
- YA booksyoung adult fiction, dystopian, fantasy, romance, coming-of-age
- Bible elementsparable, psalm, epistle, proverb, commandment
apocalyptictrivial
Lacking significance or weight
inconsequential · insignificant · minor · negligible · unimportant
- apocalyptic visionProphetic image of cataclysm
- post-apocalyptic fictionStories after society's destruction
- post-apocalyptic worldsSettings after civilization's end
- apocalyptic fictionGenre depicting global destruction
- apocalyptic prophecyForetelling of catastrophic finality
- apocalyptic beliefsExpectations of imminent catastrophe
apocalyptical, apocalyptically, postapocalyptic, post-apocalyptic