holocaust Hear it!

holocaust Definition

holo·caust (lə käst′; hōlə kôst′, hô-)

noun

  1. an offering the whole of which is burned; burnt offering
  2. great or total destruction of life, esp. by fire nuclear holocaust

Etymology: ME < OFr holocauste < LL(Ec) holocaustum, a whole burnt offering < Gr holokauston (neut. of holokaustos), burnt whole < holos, whole (see holo-) + kaustos, burnt: see caustic

holocaust Idioms

the Holocaust

the systematic, genocidal destruction of over six million European Jews by the Nazis before and during WWII

holocaust Synonyms

holocaust

n.

ruin, fire, ravage; see catastrophe, destruction 1, disaster.

holocaust Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • deny: Irving was formally charged in an Austrian court, November 22, with " denying the holocaust.
  • survive: They survived a veritable holocaust of German artillery fire from 3 sides of the Wood.
  • call: You can't really call the holocaust the hoax of the twentieth century then expect an easy ride into the political mainstream.
  • create: The less people who encourage plan and create holocausts the better!
  • follow: Again we have a medieval landscape from which science has withdrawn, following a nuclear holocaust which has left humanity genetically damaged.
  • perpetrate: French president Mitterand's son was chief arms salesman to the Hutu government of Rwanda that perpetrated this holocaust.

Adjective modifier

  • Nazi: Finally, I emphatically believe that the Nazi holocaust should be studied.
  • nuclear: The ghastly prospect of nuclear holocaust looms larger every year.
  • atomic: An atomic holocaust can begin which will destroy a lot.
  • silent: WaterAid chief executive Barbara Frost said: " There is a silent holocaust occurring around the world caused by lack of water and sanitation.
  • Victorian: Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World.

Modifies a noun

  • denier: Irving is accused of being a holocaust denier " .
  • denial: Holocaust denial per se is not an offense in the United Kingdom.
  • survivor: I met a holocaust survivor who now protests against Zionism.
  • memorial: The Wiener Library is the world's oldest Holocaust memorial institution, tracing its history back to 1933.
  • victim: One must wonder why one particular minority has been excluded from the list of holocaust victims.

Noun used with modifier

  • zombie: Zombie Holocaust on eBay eBay offers great deals on items related to Zombie Holocaust.
  • post: Joel Lane's Against My Ruins is the tale of two people attempting intimacy as they scavenge through a post holocaust city.
Holocaust Quotes

There were many ways of not burdening one's conscience, of shunning responsibility, looking away, keeping silent.When the unspeakable truth of the Holocaust became known at the end of the war, all too many of us claimed that they had not known anything about it, orevensuspectedanything† Whoeverrefuses to remember the inhumanity is prone to new risks of infection† Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance.

—Weizsa«  cker, Richard Freiherr, Baron von

Browse dictionary entries near holocaust

  1. holoblastic
  2. holo-
  3. holmium
  4. Holmes, E.T.
  5. Holmes
  6. holm oak
  7. holm
  8. Hollywood bed
  9. Hollywood
  10. hollyhock
  1. Holocene
  2. holocrine
  3. holoenzyme
  4. Holofernes
  5. hologamous
  6. hologram
  7. holograph
  8. holographic
  9. holographic will
  10. holography