Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • The Great Flood: In the Bible (Book of Genesis), a catastrophic, worldwide deluge sent by God to cleanse the earth of humanity's wickedness, from which only Noah, his family, and the animals saved on the Ark survived.

Usage

• Proper noun: "The Flood" is used as a specific historical and theological event, typically capitalized. It refers to the narrative central to the story of Noah's Ark.
  • According to the Bible, God sent the Flood as a judgment.
  • Many cultures have stories about a great flood, but the Flood in Genesis is the most famous in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Advanced Usage

• "antediluvian": (adjective) Belonging to the time before the Flood. Used to describe something very old or outdated.
  • His ideas about management are positively antediluvian.
• Used metaphorically to describe an overwhelming influx or a very large quantity.
  • After the announcement, the office received a flood of applications. (Note: This uses the common noun "flood," not the proper noun "the Flood").

Variants and Related Words

• Flood (common noun): An overflowing of a large amount of water beyond its normal confines, especially over what is normally dry land.
  • The heavy rains caused a severe flood in the valley.
• Deluge (noun): A severe flood; often used synonymously with "the Flood."
  • The biblical deluge lasted forty days and forty nights.

Synonyms

• The Deluge: A direct synonym for the Biblical event.
• Noah's Flood: A more descriptive synonym specifying the Biblical narrative.

Related Phrases

• "After the Flood": Referring to the period or world following the Biblical event.
  • In the story, God made a covenant with Noah after the Flood.
• "Pre-Flood world": Referring to the earth or society that existed before the Biblical deluge.

Noun

1. (Biblical) the great deluge that is said in the Book of Genesis to have occurred in the time of Noah; it was brought by God upon the earth because of the wickedness of human beings