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cataclysm

Pronunciation: /ˈkatəˌklɪz(ə)m/

Definition of cataclysm

noun

  • a large-scale and violent event in the natural world: the cataclysm at the end of the Cretaceous Period
  • a sudden violent political or social upheaval:the cataclysm of the First World War

Origin:

early 17th century (originally denoting the biblical Flood described in Genesis): from French cataclysme, via Latin from Greek kataklusmos 'deluge', from kata- 'down' + kluzein 'to wash'

cataclysm in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of cataclysm in the US English dictionary

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