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 Words From

• 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

As long as Arte is at the helm the Angels are doomed.

From Los Angeles Times

Are we doomed to be poisoned by pollution or can we still clean the planet?

From Salon

If anything, he boldly foreshadows the darkness just on the horizon, shooting his drama austerely, the weight of inevitable doom hanging over everything.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump brought “faux-populism” while the Democrats brought “no populism” and that doomed them.

From Salon

Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed said that while the 80s original was "well-meaning at the time", it was "frustrating to see our nation’s ancient history, culture, diversity and beauty reduced to doom and gloom".

From BBC

Related Words

• calamity
• cataclysm
• catastrophe
• disaster
• downfall