noun
-
a disaster or misfortune, esp one causing extreme havoc, distress, or misery
-
a state or feeling of deep distress or misery
Synonym Usage
See disaster.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of calamity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English calamite, from Middle French, from Latin calamitāt-, stem of calamitās (also kadamitas ) “crop failure, disaster,” of disputed origin; often considered to be derived from calam(us) “cane, reed” + -itās -ity ( def. ), but perhaps instead akin to columus “safe,” incolumitās “safety”
Explanation
Use the word calamity to describe an event that causes great harm and misery, or a general state of distress or misery: the calamity of war. Near synonyms are catastrophe and disaster. The noun calamity is from Middle English calamytey, from Latin calamitas, a word which might be related to Latin clades "destruction." Calamity Jane was the nickname of a 19th-century woman living on the U.S. frontier. She claimed to have some very exciting adventures.
Vocabulary lists containing calamity
List 8
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The Crossover
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They plan for calamity and how they’d bounce back.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
White House reporters, meanwhile, are preparing for the day — perhaps a day when they serve as pool reporter — when they get the call about a calamity befalling the president.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Even for those not managing money, the financial and emotional rewards from predicting a calamity are large.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Nor did it comment on the root cause of the calamity.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
We have in the past been forced into reluctant change by weather, calamity, and plague.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
AI bots, like them or not, are being perfected as personal AI coaches, encouragers, even therapists to counter that voice in your head, especially about climate calamities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Databases such as Court Listener have a growing list of rulings on AI-generated calamities in the US courts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
The calamities each couple faces spin out into a web of favors and coercion in this tale of broken systems and characters going to great lengths to get what they want.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Spurs' first aim will be to avoid any calamities like their red card against Crystal Palace in their previous home league game.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
Many historical calamities, from deadly wars to ecological catastrophes, have resulted from this over-hasty jump.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
