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cataclysm
cataclysm definition
cata·clysm (kat′ə kliz′əm)
noun
- a great flood; deluge
- any great upheaval, as an earthquake or a war, that causes sudden and violent changes, great destruction, etc.
Etymology: L cataclysmos < Gr kataklysmos < kataklyzein < kata-, down + klyzein, to wash: for IE base see cloaca
Related Forms:
- cataclysmic cat′a·clys′·mic (kat′ə kliz′mik) adjective or cataclysmal cat′a·clys′·mal
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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