end of the world
60
3.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
fin del mundo
- It's not the end of the world if you don't pass your test; you can always try again.
I mean, it's not the end of the world, it's just weird.
- I mean, it's not the end of the world, it's just weird.
- It almost seems like the end of the world.
- It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.
- It changes our world, but it's not the end of the world.
- But you don't have to see it as like the end of the world.
- So again, step one, remind yourself that it's not the end of the world if you don't pass your test.
- I love the way that's set up and the depiction of the end of the world in this film.
- But when you're young, it feels like the end of the world.
- Guys, if you're prepping for self isolation or the end of the world, no matter what, you don't need bread.
- So if I put those immovable objects in place, then it's not the end of the world if a little extra work creeps in, right?
- Otherwise you will give in to that beast and it's not the end of the world and you'll recover from it.
Examples
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It's going to be the end of the world, Bill.
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I mean, it's not the end of the world, it's just weird.
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It's the end of the world as we know it.
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Technology failure is not the end of the world: it's a learning opportunity.
Academic text (2015) -
"Come on, it's not the end of the world," she said, turning down the volume.
Fiction book (1992) -
It's not the end of the world if you lose this account.
Fiction book (1990) -
Things are bad, but it's not the end of the world, folks.
Blog text (20) -
Each side thinks that if the other side wins that it will be the end of the world as we know it.
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All you can see is the end of the world and then you get this massive inflation.
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At the start of any misfortune, one always feels that the end of the world has come.
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
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
1
9.4
A very large battle or event that causes great damage to many people and places
1
3.7
A situation that is a total failure causing big problems
An event that kills most people or destroys life on Earth
A very serious situation likely to have bad results
Antonyms
How Serious
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 is also used as a strong image from those stories: people compare a small disaster to the idea of the whole world ending to show how terrible it feels. That's why today we often use it to mean 'a very serious problem' or as an exaggeration.