/ əˌpɒkəˈlɪptɪk; NAmE əˌpɑːk-/ adjective
1.
describing very serious damage and destruction in past or future events :
an apocalyptic view of history
apocalyptic warnings of the end of society
2.
like the end of the world :
an apocalyptic scene
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WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent. (as a noun denoting the writer of the Apocalypse, the book of Revelation, St John): from Greek apokaluptikos , from apokaluptein uncover, from apo- un- + kaluptein to cover.