单词 | cataclysmic |
释义 | cataclysmic (once / 18672 pages) adj Something that’s cataclysmic is violently destructive. The word often refers to natural disasters, like a cataclysmic earthquake, but cataclysmic can describe other events as well as long as they’re bad enough, like the cataclysmic failure you had making meatloaf. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tornados, landslide . . . These natural disasters are often described as cataclysmic when they cause great devastation. Cataclysmic isn't just for describing natural disasters — personal disasters can be called cataclysmic as well if you want to emphasize just how badly something turned out. If your meatloaf is just so-so, it’s not so disastrous. But if it’s so spectacularly bad that no one can eat it? That’s a cataclysmic failure. WORD FAMILYcataclysmic: cataclysmically+/cataclysm: cataclysmal, cataclysmic, cataclysms USAGE EXAMPLESThere are more of these movies than ever, with budget-bulging cataclysmic finales all gunning to top each other. The Guardian(Dec 12, 2016) The impression is one of figures hurled back by some cataclysmic disaster. The New Yorker(Dec 05, 2016) This cataclysmic moment could finally decide a winner—the East versus the West—in a long-simmering battle for global supremacy. Wall Street Journal(Nov 29, 2016) adj severely destructive cataclysmic nuclear war a cataclysmic earthquake Syn cataclysmal destructive causing destruction or much damage |
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