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Meaning of sword of Damocles | Babel Free

Noun CEFR C1
/ˈsɔɹd əv ˈdæməkliz/

Definitions

A thing or situation which causes a prolonged state of impending doom or misfortune.

Equivalents

Examples

“Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident, or miscalculation or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.”
“At some point the Sword of Damocles which hangs over all our railway operations will fall with catastrophic impact, just as it did at Hatfield in 2000.”

CEFR level

C1
Advanced
This word is part of the CEFR C1 vocabulary — advanced level.

See also

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