adjective

apocalyptic

uh-pah-kuh-LIP-tik/əˌpɑːkəˈlɪptɪk/

Concerning the catastrophic end of the world.

A fiery meteor threatens the towers in an apocalyptic scene.

$An ominous enormous fiery meteor descending toward a small cluster of fractured modern towers, apocalyptic impending catastrophic destruction.$

Etymology

apoGreekoff, away

+calyptGreekto cover, conceal

+icGreekpertaining to

The pieces describe uncovering or revealing, not destruction itself. The adjective first referred to the biblical Revelation; its association with the world's end produced the broader sense of suggesting catastrophic destruction.

In context

Hello Future Me16:23

And he sees himself releasing this apocalyptic genocidal March of Titans across the Earth, which he knows is terrible and awful.

How to Write a Tragic Villain

More examples

The scholar studies apocalyptic passages describing the final judgment.
Survivors described the firestorm in apocalyptic terms.
The novel imagines an apocalyptic war that ends civilization.

Forms

apocalyptic

apocalypse noun — a catastrophic end or destruction

Similar words

catastrophic: Catastrophic means disastrous; apocalyptic evokes overwhelming, world-ending destruction.
devastating: Devastating can describe a severe personal loss; apocalyptic suggests destruction on a much larger scale.