cataclysm

Other forms of cataclysm

plural

cataclysms·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about cataclysm

What does cataclysm mean?

cataclysm means "a sudden violent change in the earth's surface". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in cataclysm?

cataclysm has 4 syllables, though it cannot be divided in writing — the spelling has fewer vowels than the word has beats. In IPA it is /ˈkætəˌklɪsəm/.

What is another word for cataclysm?

Close synonyms include catastrophe, calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is cataclysm a common word?

cataclysm is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.