‘apoplexy’ and ‘apocalypse’?

First, let’s deal with the pronunciation of ‘apoplexy’. The ‘a’ sounds like the ‘a’ in ‘cat’, ‘bat’, and ‘hat’, and the following ‘o’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. ‘Plex’ rhymes with ‘flex’, and the final ‘y’ is like the ‘i’ in ‘sit’ and ‘bit’. The word is pronounced ‘A-pe-plek-si’ with the stress on the first syllable. When someone has a fit of apoplexy, he becomes extremely angry.

In a fit of apoplexy, the CEO threw the paperweight at the plasma TV.

The word can also be used to refer to a stroke caused by a brain haemorrhage. ‘Apoplexy’ comes from the Greek ‘apoplexia’ meaning ‘disable/cripple by a stroke’.

The ‘a’ in the first and third syllable of ‘apocalypse’ sounds like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The ‘o’ is pronounced like the ‘o’ in ‘hot’, ‘got’, and ‘pot’; and the final ‘lypse’ sounds like the word ‘lips’. The word is pronounced ‘e-PO-ke-lips’ with the stress on the second syllable. When you talk about ‘the Apocalypse’, you are talking about the total destruction of the world.

Some people became rather uncomfortable when the priest talked about the Apocalypse.

The word can also be used in everyday contexts to refer to an event which brings about destruction and radical change.

The documentary was about what happens after a great nuclear apocalypse.