apocalypse means the written account of a revelation of hidden things given by God to a chosen prophet. It carries an Arena rating of 1878, earned across 23 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, apocalypse ranks #92 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #111 of 42,762 for Qualifying, #590 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,597 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
apocalypse is pronounced /əˈpɒkəlɪps/.
Why “apocalypse” is a great word
A prophetic revelation, especially of a cataclysmic event or the final destruction of the world. From Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, "revelation, uncovering"), from ἀπό (apo, "off") and καλύπτειν (kalýptein, "to cover, conceal"), first attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike "revelation" (a general disclosure of truth) or "catastrophe" (a sudden disaster), "apocalypse" is the divine unveiling of the final order—prophecy made manifest as cataclysm. It is the seventh seal broken, the four horsemen riding, and the star called Wormwood falling into the waters; it is the moment the veil of ordinary time rips open to show what was always burning behind it. The word is now a secular echo of that original, terminal vision, the last necessary unmasking of all things hidden.
Etymology
Proprialization from apocalypse, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”). The translation decisions, from the original Greek to the conventional English choices Revelation and Apocalypse, are covered by Wikipedia at Book of Revelation § Title, authorship, and date.
name
- The written account of a revelation of hidden things given by God to a chosen prophet.e.g.“Apocalypses of Adam and Abraham (Epiphanius) and of Elias (Jerome) are also mentioned.”
- Revelation (last book of the Bible, composed of twenty-two chapters, which narrates a vision of the end times).e.g.“He's been reading the Apocalypse again, and doomscrolling social media content that fixates on it.”
- Armageddon: the destructive end of the world.e.g.“They keep predicting that the Apocalypse is nigh, but I notice that they have books and supplies that they're trying to sell.”
noun
- A revealing, especially a prophecy of, or the unfolding of, supernatural events.e.g.“The early development of Perl 6 was punctuated by a series of apocalypses by Larry Wall.”
- A huge disaster; a cataclysmic event; destruction or ruin of large scope and scale.e.g.“Near-synonyms: cataclysm, catastrophe, holocaust; armageddon, doomsday, end times, eschaton, judgement day, judgment day”
- The unveiling of events prophesied in the Revelation; the second coming and the end of life on Earth; global destruction.e.g.“Meronyms: Final Judgment, Judgment Day, judgement day, judgment day”
- The Book of Revelation.
verb
- To reveal.
- To dwell on a huge disaster one expects to take place.
- To bring about (a huge disaster).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.