Meaning & use

cataclysmic

adjective·Advanced

Involving a sudden, violent, and large-scale disaster or upheaval.

See it in a sentence

The earthquake caused cataclysmic damage across the entire coastal region.

Economists warned that the policy could trigger a cataclysmic financial collapse.

A note on using this word

Cataclysmic is a strong, dramatic word best reserved for genuinely massive destruction rather than everyday setbacks.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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