apocalyptic

adj

1. (not-comparable)Of or relating to an apocalypse:

   “Let him go and make, and burn, a pile or two [of bricks] with his own hands; he will thereby receive apocalyptic visions of a nature novel to his soul.”

   “From beginning to end, and throughout, the Gospel makes such frequent use of apocalyptic motifs and the apocalyptic viewpoint that it deserves to be called the apocalyptic Gospel."”

   “This was because apocalyptic stories — from the Greek word apohalupsis which means "reveal" — uses the vocabulary of symbols and numbers and contains concealed messages that secular listeners cannot comprehend.”

   ““It’s true that as I walk out of my house in a nice quiet street and go to a nice cafe five minutes’ walk away, I have no reason to have these apocalyptic musings.””

2. (figuratively, not-comparable)Of or relating to an apocalypse:

   “For the first time since the show began, a sense of utter loneliness overwhelmed me, a bitter despair at the uselessness of individual effort in this gigantic tragedy of apocalyptic destruction.”

   “In fact, interpreters commonly declare that Mark is an "apocalyptic" Gospel. When they read Jesus' long speech toward the end of the Gospel (chap. 13), they even detect a veritable "apocalypse": "Wars and rumors of wars, […]"”

   “These bookends house a wealth of apocalyptic stories. The Bible, like some street preacher with a sign, shouts, "The end is near!"”

   “Life in the SCP universe continually hangs by a thread, threatened constantly by the existence of a number of dangerous and apocalyptic anomalies. These threats are countered and contained by the existence of organizations such as the SCP Foundation or the Global Occult Coalition.”

   “[…]and the pillar of smoke which had recently begun to dissipate, as many of the fires amidships had been smothered by the onrushing water, was replaced by a vast mushroom cloud of steam, smoke, flame, and debris as the magazines detonated. In the pall of this apocalyptic destruction, the U.S. fleet takes stock.”

3. (not-comparable)Portending a future apocalypse (disaster, devastation, or doom).

   “Submissions on the part of gay teachers and students and organizations were countered by apocalyptic denunciations on the part of Bible-toting mothers and fathers expertly organized by the right.”

   “Shortly after the publication of When Prophecy Fails, Hardyck and Braden (1962) investigated an apocalyptic group of Pentecostals to see if the failed apocalypse would result in enduring conviction and proselytization, but it did not.”

4. (not-comparable)Catachresis for apoplectic.

   “He was apocalyptically furious.”

noun

1. One who predicts apocalypse.