Apocalypse
noun /əˈpɒk.ə.lɪps/ — A catastrophic event; the ultimate revelation
Definition
A catastrophic event causing destruction on a civilisational scale — or in its original meaning, a revelation or disclosure of hidden knowledge, particularly about the end of the world.
Beyond the definition
The word for the end that is also the revelation. The original apocalypse was not destruction but unveiling — the end reveals what was always true.
Origin & history
From Greek 'apokalypsis' (uncovering, revelation) — 'apo' (away from) + 'kalyptein' (to cover). To uncover, to reveal. The Book of Revelation is 'The Apocalypse' — the uncovering.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Every generation believes it might be living through the apocalypse — which says something about the human need for significance.
The original apocalypse is not destruction but disclosure — the end reveals what the world was.
She described the film as apocalyptic not because of its violence but because of what it revealed.
Synonyms
catastrophe, cataclysm, revelation, armageddon, end times
Antonyms
concealment, continuity
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Transitional Eras of Time
An adult stands on a hill looking at two layers of time: crumbling ancient ruins in the foreground and a modern glass city in the distance.
An apocalypse is a catastrophic event or a revelation of hidden knowledge. The visual of the ancient ruins giving way to a modern city serves as an analogy for an epochal shift: it reveals the 'end' of one era and the 'uncovering' or emergence of a new one, showing history divided by these transformative moments.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration