apocalypse

(redirected from Apocalyptic theory)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.

a·poc·a·lypse

(ə-pŏk′ə-lĭps′)

a. Apocalypse Abbr. Apoc. Bible The Book of Revelation.

b. Any of a number of anonymous Jewish or Christian texts from around the second century bc to the second century ad containing prophetic or symbolic visions, especially of the imminent destruction of the world and the salvation of the righteous.

a. The end of the world, especially as described in one of these texts.

b. A great catastrophe that results in widespread destruction or the collapse of civilization: "The United States was calling in air strikes and heavy armor until we had the feeling that the whole thing was going to end in apocalypse" (Phillip Robertson).

3. A prophetic disclosure; a revelation.

[Middle English Apocalipse, from Late Latin Apocalypsis, from Greek apokalupsis, revelation, Apocalypse, from apokaluptein, to uncover : apo-, apo- + kaluptein, to cover; see kel- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apocalypse

(əˈpɒkəlɪps)

1. a prophetic disclosure or revelation

2. an event of great importance, violence, etc, like the events described in the Apocalypse

[C13: from Late Latin apocalypsis, from Greek apokalupsis, from apokaluptein to disclose, from apo- + kaluptein to hide]

Apocalypse

(əˈpɒkəlɪps)

(Bible) Bible (in the Vulgate and Douay versions of the Bible) the Book of Revelation

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•poc•a•lypse

(əˈpɒk ə lɪps)

n.

1. (cap.) revelation (def. 4).

2. any of a class of Jewish or Christian writings of c200 b.c. to a.d. 350 that were assumed to make revelations of the ultimate divine purpose.

3. a prophetic revelation, esp. concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good triumph over the forces of evil.

4. any revelation or prophecy.

5. any universal or widespread destruction or disaster.

[1125–75; < Late Latin apocalypsis < Greek apokálypsis revelation, derivative of apokalýptein to uncover, reveal =apo- apo- + kalýptein to cover, conceal]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	apocalypse - a cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil calamity, catastrophe, tragedy, disaster, cataclysm - an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster"
	2.	Apocalypse - the last book of the New Testament; contains visionary descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil and of the end of the world; attributed to Saint John the Apostle Book of Revelation, Revelation of Saint John the Divine, Revelation Four Horsemen - (New Testament) the four evils that will come at the end of the world: conquest rides a white horse; war a red horse; famine a black horse; plague a pale horse New Testament - the collection of books of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline and other epistles, and Revelation; composed soon after Christ's death; the second half of the Christian Bible

apocalypse

noun destruction, holocaust, havoc, devastation, carnage, conflagration, cataclysm We live in the shadow of the apocalypse.

Four horsemen of the Apocalypse

white - Christ, red - War, black - Famine, pale - Death

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

apocalypse

noun

Something disclosed, especially something not previously known or realized:

disclosure, exposé, exposure, revelation.

Informal: eye opener.

Translations

Apokalypse

Apocalipsis

apocalypse

Apokalipsa

apokalipszis

apocalisse

apokalipsa

Апокалипсис

apokalipsa

Apocalypse

[əˈpɒkəlɪps] N → Apocalipsis m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

apocalypse

[əˈpɒkəlɪps] n → apocalypse f
the Apocalypse (BIBLE) → l'Apocalypse

Apocalypse

n → Apokalypse f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

apocalypse

[əˈpɒkəlɪps] n → apocalisse f

References in periodicals archive ?

An apocalyptic theory termed Revelation 12 Sign predicts that The Rapture, as set out in the Book of Revelations, will be fulfilled on 23/9/17, when a celestial alignment heralds the End of Days.

It's the end of the world as we know it

"It's the people in business, like my members, that are working so hard to ensure his ridiculous apocalyptic theory is wide of the mark.

'Detroit' comparison raises region's hackles

A French deconstructionist named Jacques Derrida offers a sort of anarchistic, apocalyptic theory that many in my class found somewhat hard to grasp -- that society is on the eve of a "rupture," some kind of break with how we understand reality, an anti-metaphysics in which everything we have assumed to be the "center" is in fact, defined by its absence as much as its presence.