Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to, of the nature of, or characterized by cataclysms.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. severely destructive
Etymologies
- From cataclysm + -ic. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Today we seem to have trouble picturing the future, except in cataclysmic terms or as the present gone worse ( "Children of Men").”
What Happened to the Future that Science Fiction Promised Us?
“Life seldom deals in cataclysmic situations – at least on the surface.”
“Never mind that the long-term cataclysmic effects of subtracting about tens of millions of young, strong people from Africa over the course of a couple of centuries is a large part of the reason why Africa now appears so distasteful to you.”
“However, things are not perfect: There are sound problems on “Night Train” that can only be described as cataclysmic, and Trask glares at the soundman.”
“The atmosphere can only be described as a cataclysmic mismatch of nostalgic revelry.”
“We do work other than this microlensing work, we also measure the light changes of objects called cataclysmic variable stars.”
“Mr. Strickland says the accidents rear-view cameras could prevent are "cataclysmic" — specifically that of a parent backing over a child.”
The Wall Street Journal: Key to Next Push for Safer Driving: Technology
“Also, the New Orleans Saints success was a "cataclysmic" even for New Orleans residents.”
“Bratton says a key factor is that there is no potentially "cataclysmic" drug epidemic on the horizon similar to that of crack cocaine, which he and other analysts say fueled the widespread street violence of the late 1980s and early 1990s.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘cataclysmic’.
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avfordomd's list
lexicon
copacetic, amiable, philanthropic, misanthropic, gregarious, vehement, parcel, congregate, paucity, passel, multitudinous, pulchritudinous and 98 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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WOOZ
Words contained in the screenplay of Wizard of Oz, 1939 film.
Comments show the actual "line" from the film.
The words are tagged for grade-levelpusillanimous, genuflect, cataclysmic, vernacular, peasantry, aver, caliginous, tedious, advent, careworn, bovine, commodity and 34 more...
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My Favorite Words(:
These are all the words I LOVE! Some are real, some are made up, some are different languages. But I love em' all just the same!
sheath, spectacular, spectabulousarific, lovely, hola, silly, rice, nostalgia, lemons, jargon, strucken, perpendicular and 11 more...
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quality words
This is a mix of new words I've read studying for the GRE verbal and words I use normally. I also check back on these words if I don't use them often enough.
ineffable, septuagenarian, sesquipedalian, argyle, coalescence, profundity, vivisepulture, defenestrate, concatenate, usurp, diatribe, veracious and 461 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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The Most Beautiful Words in the Engli...
mellifluous, obscure, star-crossed, undulating, solstice, messiah, audacious, solace, twilight, wanderlust, lovelorn, byzantine and 219 more...
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ktrey's wordlist
Words that I like.
Many may be lexicographically impotent due to a lack of citations and definition. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify this eventually.velleity, dispositive, bloviate, bibulous, fungible, concupiscence, avuncular, carnaptious, thrawn, hypocoristic, diegesis, lagniappe and 928 more...
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samuraizack's Words
floccinaucinihili..., pneumonoultramicr..., bombastic, existentialistic, velocipede, aglet, anatomical snuffbox, wonk, tang, funambulist, quakebuttock, flews and 390 more...
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Aequoria's list
affect, deleterious, nuance, pliant, verbatim, pertinent, latter, municipality, provincial, voyeuristic, circumlocution, wane and 798 more...
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monica's list
just words i think are pretty.
luminous, iridescent, crestfallen, wanderlust, autumn, autumnal, spark, candescence, exaltations, merry, empathy, tainted and 96 more...
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mango22's Words
avalanche, apple, arrividerci, awry, adamant, asunder, barter, beloved, calm, cataclysmic, catastrophe, coat and 143 more...
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Hiroe's Words
facetious, bardic, twatwaffle, cattywampus, splendiferous, zomg, merf, fwaa, fnord, tortify, schwiz, blort and 225 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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kingrat47's Words
procrustean, devolution, cacophony, hippopotamus, crunch, beware, chortled, sibilant, subtle, undermine, acromegaly, acropolis and 645 more...
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Papageno's Words, Pt. I
hobbledehoy, absquatulate, chthonic, prolix, ululate, internecine, verisimilitude, animadversion, concupiscence, vertiginous, cucullate, lucubrate and 1554 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for cataclysmic.
monkeysisterdude this... is... my... FAVORITE WORD!!! :D Nov 17, 2011
dbekeny WIZARD
...I -- ah -- on the contr -- -- Here --
Well, you force me into a cataclysmic
decision. The only way to get Dorothy back
to Kansas is for me to take her there myself!
Jun 10, 2010