noun
holocaust
HOH-luh-kost/ˈhəʊləkɔːst/
Destruction or slaughter on a massive scale.
A holocaust of fire destroys blocks of the city.
Etymology
The roots express something wholly burned, originally a sacrificial burnt offering. That meaning broadened figuratively to massacre or destruction involving large numbers of people.
In context
the elimination of enemies of the state namely the Jewish population. The police [music] would play a significant role during the Holocaust.
More examples
- The novel imagined a nuclear holocaust.
- They feared another holocaust.
- The account described widespread holocaust.
Forms
holocaust · holocausts
Similar words
- catastrophe
- Any enormous disaster, not necessarily slaughter or burning.
- conflagration
- A large destructive fire specifically.