Cataclysm
noun /ˈkæt.ə.klɪz.əm/ — A sudden violent upheaval that causes great change
Definition
A sudden, violent physical or social disruption that produces massive change and destruction — an event so large that it divides history into before and after.
Beyond the definition
The event that makes everything that follows look different. A cataclysm is not just disaster — it is reorganisation by force.
Origin & history
From Greek 'kataklysmos' (deluge, flood) — from 'kataklyzein' (to flood) — 'kata' (down) + 'klyzein' (to wash). The great flood that changes everything by washing it away.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The extinction of the dinosaurs was a cataclysm triggered by an asteroid the size of a city.
War is a political cataclysm: even when the buildings survive, the world that existed before it doesn't.
Some cataclysms are slow — cultural, economic — and only recognisable as such in retrospect.
Synonyms
catastrophe, upheaval, disaster, convulsion, holocaust
Antonyms
stability, continuity, peace
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
Storm-Damaged Garden Restoration
Neighbours work to restore a storm-damaged courtyard garden, staking a bent plant beside broken branches and a cracked planter after the event.
A cataclysm is a sudden, violent disruption producing massive change. The scene of the ruined garden after the storm visualizes the 'after' of a cataclysm; the broken branches and cracked planters demonstrate the division between the world before the storm and the difficult reality that follows, illustrating the lasting impact of such an event.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated illustration