cataclysmic

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English cataclysm

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-European *-ikos

Proto-Italic *-ikos

Latin -icuslbor.

Old French -iquebor.

Middle English -ik

English -ic

English cataclysmic

From cataclysm + -ic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkætəˈklɪzmɪk/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

cataclysmic (comparative more cataclysmic, superlative most cataclysmic)

1. Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.

   It is believed that a cataclysmic impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

   • 2005, Edmund White, My Women‎^[1], archived from the original on 4 December 2012:

     That’s why to be rejected in love was so cataclysmic: one had been judged and found wanting.

Derived terms

• cataclysmically
• cataclysmic variable star
• postcataclysmic
• precataclysmic
• uncataclysmic

Related terms

• cataclysm

Translations

of or pertaining to a cataclysm — see also cataclysmal,‎ cataclysmatic

• Catalan: cataclísmic
• Dutch: cataclystisch
• Esperanto: kataklisma
• Georgian: კატაკლიზმური (ḳaṭaḳlizmuri)
• German: katastrophal (de), verheerend (de), dramatisch (de)
• Greek: κατακλυσμικός (el) (kataklysmikós), κατακλυσμιαίος (el) m (kataklysmiaíos)
• Italian: cataclismo
• Manx: co-leaystagh
• Romanian: cataclismic m or n
• Spanish: cataclísmico
• Swedish: kataklysmisk
• Welsh: trychinebus (cy)