doomsday event
- noun
- /ˈduːmzdeɪ ɪˈvɛnt/
:
evento apocalíptico
- Many people live in fear of a doomsday event that could end civilization as we know it.
Examples
-
The movie depicted a doomsday event that wiped out most of the human population.
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Scientists are studying ancient records to understand the impact of past doomsday events on the earth.
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I hope we can all agree that a thermonuclear, Chernobyl, or otherwise doomsday event won't happen.
Blog text (20) -
I also believe that history has shown in "science" cases such as past "global warming" type doomsday events that even when a small group of scientists proves beyond doubt they are correct, the "mainstream science" will still refuse for decades to admit it.
Blog text (21)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A sudden event that causes great damage, loss, or failure
176
7.0
A sudden terrible event that causes great damage and suffering
134
8.6
A great disaster that destroys the world, often caused by a divine power
60
3.7
A situation that seems like a disaster but is often not as bad
49
6.7
A terrible event that causes much harm and suffering
23
7.5
The last day when the world ends or everything is destroyed
19
9.2
A sudden violent event that causes great destruction or change
8
9.9
A final battle in Norse myths that destroys the gods and ends the world
2
6.5
A great flood sent by God in the Bible story of Noah that destroys the world because people are wicked
1
9.4
A very large battle or event that causes great damage to many people and places
1
9.9
A final great destruction that ends the world or a whole system
1
3.7
A situation that is a total failure causing big problems
A myth where the sun drops from the sky and destroys the world
A very serious situation likely to have bad results
Antonyms
How Catastrophic
- Literature
134
8.6
176
7.0
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
∞
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'doomsday event' is directly compositional: 'doomsday' denotes the end-of-world or catastrophic day and 'event' denotes an occurrence, so the phrase straightforwardly means an occurrence related to doomsday (an apocalyptic or catastrophic event). This follows standard English noun+noun modification and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Doomsday event comes from doomsday, the idea of a final day when the world ends, and event, meaning a single big happening. So, calling something a doomsday event paints a picture of one huge disaster that could cause the 'end of the world', which is why it means a world-ending disaster.