cataclysm

English

Alternative forms

• cataclasm (dated)

Etymology

From French cataclysme, from Latin cataclysmus, from Ancient Greek κατακλυσμός (kataklusmós, “deluge, flood”), from κατακλύζω (kataklúzō, “to dash over, flood, deluge, inundate”), from κατά (katá, “downwards, towards”) + κλύζω (klúzō, “to wash off, to wash away, to dash over”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkætəˌklɪzm̩/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

cataclysm (plural cataclysms)

1. A sudden, violent event.
   • 2007, Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt, →ISBN, page 427:

     While the disaster capitalism complex does not deliberately scheme to create cataclysms on which it feeds (though Iraq may be a notable exception), there is plenty of evidence that its component industries work very hard indeed to make that current disastrous trends continue unchallenged.

2. (geology) A sudden and violent change in the earth's crust.
3. A great flood.

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with catechism.

Derived terms

• cataclysmic
• lunar cataclysm

Related terms

• catastrophe

Translations

sudden, violent event

• Armenian: կատակլիզմ (hy) (kataklizm)
• Belarusian: катаклі́зм m (kataklízm)
• Catalan: cataclisme (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 激變／激变 (zh) (jībiàn)

• Czech: kataklyzma f
• Esperanto: kataklismo
• Finnish: mullistus (fi)
• French: cataclysme (fr) m
• Galician: cataclismo (gl) m
• Georgian: კატაკლიზმა (ḳaṭaḳlizma)
• German: Kataklysmus (de) m
• Greek: κατακλυσμός (el) m (kataklysmós)
• Italian: cataclisma (it) m
• Japanese: 激変 (ja) (げきへん, gekihen), shrekoning
• Macedonian: катакли́зма f (kataklízma)
• Manx: coleaystey mooar m
• Polish: kataklizm (pl) m
• Portuguese: cataclisma m
• Romanian: cataclism (ro) n
• Russian: катакли́зм (ru) m (kataklízm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: катаклизма f

  Roman: kataklizma (sh) f

• Swedish: kataklysm (sv)
• Ukrainian: катаклі́зм (uk) m (kataklízm)
• Urdu: قیامت‎ (qayamat)

sudden and violent change in the earth's crust

• Catalan: cataclisme (ca) m
• Finnish: kataklysmi (fi), luonnonmullistus (fi)
• Galician: cataclismo (gl) m
• Macedonian: катакли́зма f (kataklízma)
• Romanian: cataclism (ro) n
• Russian: катакли́зм (ru) m (kataklízm)
• Spanish: cataclismo (es) m

great flood

• Finnish: suurtulva
• Macedonian: по́топ m (pótop)
• Romanian: inundație (ro) f, potop (ro) n
• Russian: пото́п (ru) m (potóp)