end of the world
50
7.9
- noun
- Formal
:
juicio final
- Many religious texts discuss what will occur at the end of the world when all humans will be judged.
- the end of the world is coming
- imminent end of the world
And so you have this like, fantastically powerful orator who's painting this vision of the end of the world.
- And so you have this like, fantastically powerful orator who's painting this vision of the end of the world.
Examples
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As Witnesses, we believe the end of the world is approaching and that only 144,000 people will be saved to reign.
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To the frightened inhabitants, the end of the world had come.
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We're here to stop the end of the world.
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What happens after the end of the world?
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Is this the end of the world?
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Will it happen immediately after death or only at the end of the world?
Academic text (2005) -
Many people were sure the end of the world was coming.
Fiction book (1991) -
Dreams about cataclysm, or the end of the world, are very common, Sarah...
Fiction book (1991) -
The day before the end of the world was like any other school day for Patsy.
Fiction book (1995) -
Fundamentalists, finally, are committed to an apocalyptic vision of the end of the world and the Last Judgment.
Academic text (2006)
Synonyms
134
8.6
A great disaster that destroys the world, often caused by a divine power
50
8.4
The place in the Bible where the final battle between good and evil will happen
23
7.5
The last day when the world ends or everything is destroyed
19
8.8
In Christian belief, a future day when God judges everyone's life and decides their final place after death
16
8.7
A day at the end of time when God judges everyone for their actions
9
7.4
The return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge people at the end of the world
7
8.6
A future day when God judges people and decides if they go to heaven or hell
2
9.3
A final day when God decides each person's fate, rewarding good and punishing bad
1
6.8
Christians believe Jesus will return to earth to judge people
1
9.9
A final event in Christian belief when God ends the world
1
8.7
A future day when God judges everyone for their actions
1
9.9
The return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge all people
The day when God judges everyone and the world ends
An event that kills most people or destroys life on Earth
Surface Forms
Morphology
The basic idea ('the end' + 'the world') transparently signals a final, catastrophic outcome, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a dramatic or extreme meaning. However, the use as hyperbolic exaggeration (not a literal planetary destruction) is a metaphorical extension and relies on pragmatic/idiomatic convention, so the relation is only partially predictable without exposure.
Etymology
End of the world comes from old religious stories that picture a final day when the sky opens, the world is changed, and God judges everyone. So it names the very last event in history, 'the final judgment'.