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Cataclysm
01
a sudden, violent natural disaster that drastically alters the earth's landscape
Examples
The 2004 Indonesian earthquake and tsunami caused a massive cataclysm that claimed over 200,000 lives.
Scientists point to an asteroid or comet impact as the leading theory for the cataclysm that wiped out the dinosaurs.
02
a sudden or disastrous event that destroys or changes a whole region or system
Examples
Fall of the Western Roman Empire marked a political and economic cataclysm from which Europe did not recover for centuries.
World War I represented a cataclysm that demolished long-standing political systems and redrew the map of Europe.
Lexical Tree
cataclysmal
cataclysmic
cataclysm
