Word.ws English Dictionary

armageddon

Syllables: Ar·ma·ged·don/ˌɑːməˈɡɛdn̩//ˌɑɹməˈɡɛd(ə)n/

armageddon is the alternative letter-case form of Armageddon.

Proper noun capitalized: Armageddon

Armageddon

  1. Mount Megiddo, a hill in modern Israel near the kibbutz of Megiddo, which is the site of a prophesized final battle between the forces of good and evil before the Last Judgment.
    • For they are the ſprettes off devyls workynge myracles⸝ to go outt vnto the kynges off the erth and off the whole worlde to gaddre them to the battayle off that grett daye off God allmyghty. […] And he gaddered them togedder into a place called in the hebrue tonge Armagedon.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Revelacion off Sanct Jhon the Devine xvj:[14 and 16], folio cccxxxvj, recto
    • For they are the ſpirits of deuils working miracles, which goe forth vnto the Kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battell of that great day of God Almighty. […] And hee gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrewe tongue, Armageddon.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 16:14 and 16, signature [Aa4], recto, column 1
  2. (broadly) The battle itself.
    • This day will to the Christian world be even more awful and tremendous than the day of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem was to the Jewish nation. As the believing Jews were delivered from that destruction, so shall the true disciples of Christ be saved in the day of Armageddon: […]1813, William Cuninghame, “The Fourteenth Chapter of the Apocalypse”, in A Dissertation on the Seals and Trumpets of the Apocalypse, and the Prophetical Period of Twelve Hundred and Sixty Years...
    • And so, unfortunately, this great and spreading network of railways, that recently showed such promise as a major instrument in the modern development of China, must be left for the time being in the melting-pot of Armageddon.1941 October, F. S. Bond, “The Railways of China”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 440

Noun capitalized: Armageddon

Armageddon (countable and uncountable, plural Armageddons)

  1. A catastrophic or great conflict, especially one regarded as likely to destroy the human race or the world; (loosely) the end of the world.
    • I shall know that your good is mine: ye shall feel that my strength is yours: / In that day of Armageddon, at the last great fight of all, / That Our Home stand together and the pillars do not fall.1896, Rudyard Kipling, “[The Seven Seas.] England’s Answer.”, in The Seven Seas, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 16
    • Some say the end is near / Some say we'll see Armageddon soon / I certainly hope we will / I sure could use a vacation from this […]1996 September 17, Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, “Ænema”, in Ænima, performed by Tool, New York, N.Y.: Zoo Entertainment, →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    Apocalypse, doomsday
  2. (attributive, broadly, often) A type of chess game, usually played when a match would otherwise end in a draw, where black wins drawn games and white is given more time as compensation.
    • [Michael] Crichton has just been too shrewd to cast his lot with the boys who play Armageddon chess [referring to military thinktanks]. He's realized that the work for which they pay mere thousands can be sold to the public for millions.1971 April 30, “The Screen: Germ of an Idea [review of The Andromeda Strain (1971)]”, in James O’Gara, editor, Commonweal: A Weekly Review of Public Affairs, Literature and the Arts, volume XCIV...
    • Now came sudden death. Armageddon chess: and for one the sobriquet didn't seem inappropriate. […] In Armageddon chess, White had five minutes to make all his moves and Black only four: but White has to win, because a draw is counted as a Black victory.2012, Daniel Blake, chapter 5, in White Death, London: Harper, HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN, page 28

Synonyms of armageddon

Forms of armageddon

pluralarmageddons
pluralArmageddons
alternative formarmageddon

Origin of armageddon

The proper noun is from Middle English Hermagedon, from Old English Ermagedon, from Late Latin Harmagedōn, from Ancient Greek Ἁρμαγεδών (Harmagedṓn), used in the New Testament of the Bible (see the quotations) to render Hebrew הַר מְגִדּוֹ (har megído, “Mount Megiddo, the place where the final battle before the Last Judgment is predicted to occur”) from הַר (har, “mountain”) + מְגִידּוֹ (megído, “Megiddo or Meggidon, ancient city of Canaan”). The Bible does not directly refer to Mount Megiddo, but only to a plain (or “valley”) of Megiddo where the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II killed King Josiah of Judah during the Battle of Megiddo in 609 B.C.E. (2 Chronicles 35:20–24; see also 2 Kings 23:29), leading to “great mourning” (Zechariah 12:11). On the other hand, Revelation 19:17–19, which describes an angel calling birds to feed on the flesh of those who have died in the final battle, alludes to Ezekiel 38:17 in which God is described as calling on birds and animals to gather for Gog and Magog’s attack on Israel which will lead to “a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood” (spelling modernized and emphasis added). Armageddon as the mountain of...

Words formed from armageddon

Words that rhyme with armageddon

Questions about armageddon

What does armageddon mean?
Armageddon means mount Megiddo, a hill in modern Israel near the kibbutz of Megiddo, which is the site of a prophesized final battle between the forces of good and evil before the Last Judgment.
What is armageddon the alternative letter-case form of?
Armageddon is the alternative letter-case form of Armageddon.
What part of speech is armageddon?
Armageddon can be a proper noun or a noun.
How do you pronounce armageddon?
Armageddon is pronounced /ˌɑːməˈɡɛdn̩/ (UK).

Words near armageddon in the dictionary

  1. armadilloes
  2. armadillos
  3. armado
  4. armadoes
  5. armados
  6. armageddon
  7. Armageddonism
  8. Armageddonist
  9. Armageddonists
  10. armageddons
  11. Armagh

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: armageddon (page history and authors); Armageddon (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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