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final reckoning

final reckoning

1 9.0
A time when someone must face the results of their past actions
  • noun
  • Literature
translation icon : juicio final
  • In the end, everyone must confront their final reckoning and take responsibility for their choices.

Examples

  • The final reckoning of her actions came when she faced the consequences in court.

  • In four days, they will face their final reckoning.

  • A final reckoning with that government should be on the table.

    Academic text (2011)
  • We can give all the help you need, but in the final reckoning, it is you who decides the outcome.

    Blog text (5)
  • In the final reckoning, the goal itself seems small in comparison to the magnitude of the problem.

    Blog text (3)
  • In effect, supporters believed the creation of the commission meant the final reckoning of federal responsibilities to American Indians.

    Academic text (1991)
  • "There must be a final reckoning between White Horse and Bear Paw," the priest had told her.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • So that at the end of the day, at the final reckoning, each and every one of those policyholders shall have contributed one penny.

  • Your final reckoning!

  • David Brooks tallies up the final reckoning of Obama's first term and does his damndest with faint praise.

    Blog text (5)

Synonyms

end of the world
vsfinal reckoning
  • Formal
50 7.9

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

is narrower focusing on a person's ultimate consequences rather than the entire global conclusion
reckoning
vsfinal reckoning
  • Literature
42 7.0

A time when people must face the results of their wrong actions

is specifically about the ultimate endpoint rather than any ordinary accountability
Judgment Day
vsfinal reckoning
19 8.8

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

is broader meaning personal final accountability not only a cosmic religious event
Last Day
vsfinal reckoning
  • Literature
16 8.7

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

is used for a person's ultimate consequences not only the global final event
Day of Judgment
vsfinal reckoning
7 8.6

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

is about an individual's ultimate endpoint rather than only a predicted cosmic event
Last Judgment
vsfinal reckoning
  • Literature
2 9.3

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

is focused on personal final consequences rather than explicit religious global verdict
day of reckoning
vsfinal reckoning
  • Literature
1 8.7

A future day when God judges everyone for their actions

is about the ultimate endpoint for a person rather than a single specific occasion
crack of doom
vsfinal reckoning
  • Archaic
9.9

The day when God judges everyone and the world ends

is more about an individual's final accountability rather than an apocalyptic global event

How Final

Last Judgment
  • Literature
2 9.3
final reckoning
  • Literature
1 9.0
reckoning
  • Literature
42 7.0
consequence
874 4.1
warning
1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

final + reckoning

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'final' (last, conclusive) with 'reckoning' (a settling, judgment or accounting); together they straightforwardly indicate an ultimate time of judgment or consequence. The adjective+noun composition and parallels like 'day of reckoning' and equivalents in other languages make this sense readily inferable to a learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Final reckoning may come from old money language: a reckoning was a bill or a count, and the final reckoning was the last time to settle accounts or pay what you owed. So today final reckoning means the time someone must face the last results of their actions or 'be judged'.