The Meaning of Armageddon: What It Is and How To Use It

Armageddon is a very tricky word. How do you use the word armageddon and in what context? This article will explain the meaning of armageddon.

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

If you’ve heard people refer to the natural disasters, pandemics, and general chaos of the past few years as foreshadowing an armageddon, you may have been wondering what exactly they mean. Today, we’re going to explain what the word armageddon means and how to use it in a sentence. 

What Does the Word Armageddon Mean?

The noun armageddon refers to a battle between forces of good and evil or some vast conflict or confrontation. Armageddon is four syllables — ar-ma-ged-don.

What Are Translations of the Word Armageddon?

Since the word armageddon can have religious undertones, it has translations across the world. If you plan to discuss the concept of armageddon with a non-native English speaker, it could be a good idea to study this list of terms from Word Sense and learn how to say armageddon in other languages.

  • Finnish: maailmanloppu‎
  • Polish: apokalipsa‎ (fem.)
  • Cyrillic: откровење‎ (neut.), објава‎ (fem.)
  • Hungarian: apokalipszis‎
  • Arabic: القيامَة‎ (fem.)
  • Italian: apocalisse‎
  • Irish: apacailipsis‎ (masc.)
  • Nynorsk: apokalypse‎ (masc.), dommedag‎ (masc.), domedag‎ (masc.)
  • Old Irish: abcolips‎
  • Bokmål: apokalypse‎ (masc.), dommedag‎ (masc.)
  • Catalan: apocalipsi‎ (masc.)
  • Roman: otkrovenje‎ (neut.), objava‎ (fem.)
  • Estonian: apokalüpsis‎
  • Turkish: kıyamet‎
  • French: apocalypse‎ (fem.)
  • German: Apokalypse‎ (fem.)
  • Macedonian: апокали́пса‎ (fem.)
  • Spanish: apocalipsis‎ (masc.)
  • Tagalog: hulawat‎
  • Navajo: nihwiníyá‎, łahgo náhodeesdzá‎
  • Russian: апока́липсис‎ (masc.)
  • Hebrew: אחרית הימים‎
  • Burmese: ကမ္ဘာပျက်ခြင်း‎
  • Portuguese: armagedão‎ (masc.), armagedom‎ (masc.)
  • Mandarin: 世界末日‎ (shìjiè mòrì), 啟示‎, 启示‎ (qǐshì)

What Is the Etymology of the Word Armageddon?

According to Dictionary, the word armageddon has been used since the year 1580. This came from the Middle English Hermagedon and Old English Ermagedon, both of which stem from the Late Latin Hermagedōn and Armagedōn

These words have their roots in the Greek Harmagedṓn, which comes from the Hebrew har megiddōn, har măgiddō, har məgiddô, or har măgiddōn, which mean Mountain of Megiddo. Megiddo was a battlefield referenced in Samuel, Matthew, and the book of Revelation 16:16 in the Greek New Testament.

Per Bible Study Tools, the mountain of Tel Megiddo is the location of various ancient battles. This is where Sisera and the Canaanite army were defeated by Deborah and Barak, the Midianites and Amalekites were driven away by Gideon, Saul and the Israel army were defeated, and Josiah King of Judah was killed by Pharaoh Neco’s Egyptian army. 

Definitions states that this mountain — the modem Megiddo — actually housed ancient forts guarding the Via Maris that connected the ancient trade route of Egypt with the Middle East, Anatolia, the northern empires of Syria, and Mesopotamia. This location was in the story of Satan, Gog, and Magog.

How Can We Use the Word Armageddon in a Sentence?

The word Armageddon is often used metaphorically, so it can be extremely helpful to see this word used in a sentence. Someone might use the word armageddon to refer to an explosive fight or conflict but not actually be referencing the literal end of the word.

By studying this list of sentences that contain the word armageddon, you can learn how to use it in a sentence:

When the frogs came out of the mouth of the false prophet, it was like armageddon. The devil was upon us, and it was like the world was ending. We could only hope to get to heaven.

The beast descended upon the Kishon River area like armageddon, ruining the archaeological site.

Our fight on Tuesday felt like armageddon. Like a battle of that great day of God almighty, this fight could be our last judgment. 

The last book of the chronicles was a bowl of armageddon. All of our favorite characters perished, and the fans were deeply disappointed. They rioted at this great tribulation.

It was total armageddon on the little league baseball field that day. One team was absolutely slaughtered, and it felt like the end of the world.

What Are Synonyms of the Word Armageddon?

Sometimes, you want to reference the end of the world in a way that isn’t intense or religiously connotated. To find alternate words, you can reference the below list of synonyms of armageddon from Power Thesaurus.

Which one of these words would you want to use in place of the word armageddon?

  • annihilation
  • apocalypse
  • apocalypses
  • apocalyptic
  • arena
  • battlefield
  • battleground
  • boonies
  • calamity
  • cataclysm
  • catastrophe
  • catastrophic
  • crisis
  • crucial conflict
  • devastation
  • disaster
  • disaster area
  • doomsday
  • end of the world
  • end of time
  • end times
  • end-of-the-world
  • final battle
  • final battleground
  • front line
  • holocaust
  • judgment day
  • a showdown between good and evil
  • theater of war
  • total annihilation
  • war

What Are Antonyms of the Word Armageddon?

If you want to use a word that means the opposite of the word armageddon, you can choose one from this list of antonyms of armageddon from Power Thesaurus. It can always be helpful to study new words that you can add to your vocabulary. Learning new words is a great way to keep your mind active!

  • advantage
  • boon
  • bright future
  • calm
  • certainty
  • conclusion
  • elucidation
  • explanation
  • explication
  • good fortune
  • interpretation
  • key
  • miracle
  • outcome
  • panacea
  • peace
  • resolution
  • silver bullet
  • solution
  • solving
  • success
  • ticket
  • unraveling
  • unravelment

Conclusion

To recap, the word armageddon refers to a final battle, a largely divisive conflict, or a terminal confrontation. This word comes from the mountain region of Megiddo, the site of various battles and a symbolic location of sin and the end of the world.

Sources:

  1. Armageddon synonyms – 40 Words and Phrases for Armageddon | Power Thesaurus 
  2. Armageddon antonyms – 25 Opposites of Armageddon | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Armageddon Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
  4. Armageddon Definition and Meaning | Bible Dictionary 
  5. What does armageddon mean? | Definitions