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doomsday

doomsday

23 7.5
The last day when the world ends or everything is destroyed
  • noun
  • /ˈduːmzdeɪ/
  • Literature
translation icon : fin del mundo
  • No, I'm not preparing for doomsday like the folks you see profiled on cable TV.

Thank you in advance for doing an episode on Doomsday Preppers, Patriot.

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Examples

  • The weird thing is that there is plenty of real doomsday in global warming and overpopulation.

    Blog text (16)
  • There were plenty of people making doomsday claims at the time, just like there are in every disaster.

    Blog text (20)
  • "You can stay till doomsday if you want.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Why not send some kind of doomsday machine?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • "Time to put our clothes back on and get ready for doomsday.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • With doomsday perhaps three days away, should he finally tell Lil how he felt about her?

    Fiction book (2001)
  • O'Neill said he's found that among the public, stories of doomsday are generally accepted.

    Blog text (16)
  • Can anyone save us from this impending apocalypse, this final doomsday, this... Armageddon.

  • They label people like us "extremists," "doomsday cults," "terrorists," because that's easier than telling you the truth.

  • Many people fear that doomsday will come when a massive disaster strikes the planet.

Synonyms

disaster
vsdoomsday
1.0

A sudden event that causes great damage, loss, or failure

is less about final end or judgment and more about large damage
apocalypse
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
134 8.6

A great disaster that destroys the world, often caused by a divine power

focuses more on the day or judgment aspect, not only catastrophe
end of the world
vsdoomsday
  • Formal
50 7.9

The final event when God judges all people and decides their eternal fate

adds a sense of judgment or catastrophe rather than only historical end
Armageddon
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
50 8.4

The place in the Bible where the final battle between good and evil will happen

is broader, including judgment and nonmilitary catastrophic endings
Judgment Day
vsdoomsday
19 8.8

In Christian belief, a future day when God judges everyone's life and decides their final place after death

includes that meaning but also covers nonreligious catastrophic endings
Last Day
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
16 8.7

A day at the end of time when God judges everyone for their actions

can also mean the end of the world in nonreligious contexts
Ragnarok
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
8 9.9

A final battle in Norse myths that destroys the gods and ends the world

is a general term for final day and not tied to one mythology
Day of Judgment
vsdoomsday
7 8.6

A future day when God judges people and decides if they go to heaven or hell

is used broadly for final destruction as well as moral judgment
Last Judgment
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
2 9.3

A final day when God decides each person's fate, rewarding good and punishing bad

also includes secular or disaster senses beyond that religious judgment
eschaton
vsdoomsday
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A final event in Christian belief when God ends the world

is the common word used outside strict theological discussion for final end
Gotterdammerung
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
1 9.9

A final great destruction that ends the world or a whole system

is the broader end concept used across beliefs, not only that mythic collapse
day of reckoning
vsdoomsday
  • Literature
1 8.7

A future day when God judges everyone for their actions

is the specific term for the world's final day rather than any reckoning
crack of doom
vsdoomsday
  • Archaic
9.9

The day when God judges everyone and the world ends

is the general term that covers both judgment day and total disaster
Domesday
vsdoomsday
  • Archaic
9.9

The day when God judges everyone

is the modern common form with the same meaning
doomsday event
vsdoomsday
8.6

An event that kills most people or destroys life on Earth

adds the specific sense of a final judgment day beyond general disaster

Antonyms

34 5.7

Help that saves someone from danger or a very bad situation

12 5.3

A new start when life and energy return to someone or somewhere

Compounds

Official record from 1086 listing landowners and resources in England

An event that kills most people or destroys life on Earth

How Catastrophic

doomsday
  • Literature
23 7.5
apocalypse
  • Literature
134 8.6
catastrophe
176 7.0
disaster
1.0
accident
1.0

Surface Forms

doomsday singular
doomsdays plural

Morphology

doomsday = doom + day (transparent) = doom + day

The meaning is a direct compound 'doom' (judgment/ruin) + 'day' = a day characterized by doom, i.e., the final day or time of disaster.

Etymology

The word doomsday comes from an old English word dōm meaning 'judgment' and day meaning 'day', and it is the same root as the word doom. So it originally meant the 'day of judgment' when everyone's fate is decided, which is why we still use it for the end of the world or any total disaster.