Meaning & use
Gomorrah
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Meanings
proper nounproperreligion
In the Bible, one of two cities, together with Sodom, that God destroyed because of the wickedness of its people.
Grammar: A proper name with no article; often paired with Sodom.
Patterns
- Sodom and Gomorrah
The sermon retold the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Gomorrah is described in Genesis as a city destroyed by fire.
Archaeologists have long debated where Gomorrah might have stood.
nouncountablefigurativeliterary
A place seen as completely corrupt, sinful or full of vice.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often with a Gomorrah or like Gomorrah.
Patterns
- a modern Gomorrah
- like Gomorrah
The preacher called the city a modern Gomorrah.
Critics described the casino district as a glittering Gomorrah.
The novel portrays the capital as a Gomorrah ruled by greed.
Common combinations
- Sodom and Gomorrah
- The pastor warned his flock of the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
- a modern Gomorrah
- The press labelled the city a modern Gomorrah.
- destruction of Gomorrah
- The destruction of Gomorrah is told in the book of Genesis.
- like Gomorrah
- To her grandmother, the nightclub looked like Gomorrah.
- the cities of Gomorrah
- Few details survive about the cities of Gomorrah.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Sodom
- Sodom is the companion city and is often used alone in the same figurative way, though the pair is usually mentioned together.
- den of iniquity
- A den of iniquity is a specific place of vice, whereas Gomorrah suggests a whole city of wickedness.
- cesspool
- Cesspool is a blunter insult for a corrupt place and has no religious reference.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
A writer calls a corrupt, decadent city 'a modern Gomorrah'. What does she mean?
Choose one answer.
Gomorrah is used figuratively for a place thought to be thoroughly corrupt, after the biblical city. The other options are not part of its meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Gomorrah”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.