holocaust
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Extensive destruction of a group of animals or people.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hahluhkawstSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɑləkɔst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
by extensionfiguratively
Extensive destruction of a group of animals or (especially) people; a large-scale massacre or slaughter.
by extension
Complete destruction by fire; also, the thing so destroyed.
by extensionfiguratively
Alternative letter-case form of Holocaust ("the systematic mass murder (democide or genocide) of Jews (and, more broadly, of disabled people, homosexuals, Romanis, Slavs, and others) perpetrated by Nazi Germany shortly before and during World War II"); hence, the state-sponsored mass murder of a particular group of people in society.
verb
To destroy (something) completely, especially by fire.
To subject (a group of people) to a holocaust (mass annihilation); to destroy en masse.
Alternative letter-case form of holocaust ("subject to a mass annihilation; destroy en masse").
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Complete destruction by fire; also, the thing so destroyed.
Used this way, holocaust is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use holocaust
- “A nuclear holocaust.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.