apocalypticist
|a-poc-a-lyp-tic-ist|
🇺🇸
/əˌpɑːkəˈlɪptɪst/
🇬🇧
/əˌpɒkəˈlɪptɪst/
one who predicts or studies the end (revelation/destruction)
Etymology
'apocalypticist' originates from English, specifically from the word 'apocalyptic' with the suffix '-ist', where 'apocalyptic' ultimately derives from Greek 'apokalypsis' (ἀποκάλυψις), and the elements 'apo-' meant 'away/from' and 'kalyptō' meant 'to cover/uncover'.
'apocalyptic' changed from Greek 'apokalypsis' into Latin 'apocalypsis' and through Old French into Middle English as 'apocalips'/'apocalypse'; the modern English adjective 'apocalyptic' developed from these forms, and the noun-forming suffix '-ist' was added in modern English to form 'apocalypticist'.
Initially it meant 'related to revelation or unveiling', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a person who predicts, preaches, or studies end-times events or catastrophic revelations'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who believes in or predicts an imminent apocalypse or catastrophic end-times event; someone who warns of or promotes catastrophic end-of-world scenarios.
Many apocalypticists warned that the turn of the millennium would bring cataclysmic events.
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Noun 2
a scholar or commentator who studies or interprets apocalyptic literature (texts about revelation, prophecy, and end-times), especially in religious or historical contexts.
As an apocalypticist, she focused on early Christian texts that discuss the end times.
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Last updated: 2025/12/09 11:03