doom

[ doom ]

noun

1. fate or destiny, especially adverse fate; unavoidable ill fortune:

   In exile and poverty, he met his doom.

2. ruin; death:

   to fall to one's doom.

3. a judgment, decision, or sentence, especially an unfavorable one:

   The judge pronounced the defendant's doom.

   Synonyms: fate, ruination, downfall, destruction

4. the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.
5. Obsolete. a statute, enactment, or legal judgment.

verb (used with object)

1. to destine, especially to an adverse fate.

   Synonyms: predestine, foreordain

2. to pronounce judgment against; condemn.
3. to ordain or fix as a sentence or fate.

doom

/ duːm /

noun

1. death or a terrible fate
2. a judgment or decision
3. sometimes capital another term for the Last Judgment

verb

1. tr to destine or condemn to death or a terrible fate

Other Word Forms

• doom·y adjective
• pre·doom verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of doom¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English dome, dōm, Old English dōm “judgment, law”; cognate with Old Norse dōmr, “judgment, sentence, court,” Gothic dōms “sentence, fame,” all from Germanic dômaz “what has been set,” from dôn “to set, place, do ¹( def ) ”; compare Greek thémis “law” (i.e., “what has been set, laid down”); deem

Word History and Origins

Origin of doom¹

Old English dōm; related to Old Norse dōmr judgment, Gothic dōms sentence, Old High German tuom condition, Greek thomos crowd, Sanskrit dhāman custom; see do ¹, deem , deed , -dom

Synonym Study

See fate.

Example Sentences

Having a garage sale isn’t going to stave off economic doom.

From Salon

On one hand, its narrative was built from unassailable facts and an argument worth taking seriously: A superpower that has outsourced most of its industrial production to a global rival is doomed.

From Salon

A detailed analysis of a full-sized digital scan of the Titanic has revealed new insight into the doomed liner's final hours.

From BBC

Chelsea, ever the astrology girly, foreshadowed her doom, noting that bad things happen in threes after she evaded death twice — the jewelry store robbery and the venomous snake bite.

From Los Angeles Times

Solanke had three goals and two assists in the six games before that, and has the potential to go off against a doomed Southampton side.

From BBC

Related Words

• calamity
• cataclysm
• catastrophe
• disaster
• downfall