calamity

[ kuh-lam-i-tee ]

/ kəˈlæm ɪ ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR calamity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ca·lam·i·ties.

a great misfortune or disaster, as a flood or serious injury.

grievous affliction; adversity; misery: the calamity of war.

Nearby words

calamine, calamine brass, calamint, calamite, calamitous, calamity, calamity jane, calamondin, calamus, calamus scriptorius, calando

Origin of calamity

1375–1425; late Middle English calamite < Middle French < Latin calamitāt- (stem of calamitās), perhaps akin to incolumitās safety

SYNONYMS FOR calamity

1 reverse, blow, catastrophe, cataclysm; mischance, mishap.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR calamity ON THESAURUS.COM

Synonym study

1. See disaster.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for calamity

Calamity,” Roth writes elsewhere, “when it comes, comes in a rush.
American Dreams: How Bush Shaped Our Reading of Roth’s ‘The Plot Against America’|Nathaniel Rich|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lebanon, always on the edge of (and sometimes past the edge of) calamity, but too complicated for most people to figure out.
Is It Just Me or Is the World Exploding? So Why Isn’t Obama Doing More?|Michael Tomasky|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Batman and Robin was such a calamity that it was easy to reboot.
'Godzilla' Director Gareth Edwards Says Godzilla Is a 'God' Protecting Mankind Against Climate Change|Marlow Stern|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But their arrival was experienced by Indians, who found their worlds abruptly overturned, as a calamity.
India’s Newest State Telangana Is Bosnia Redux|Kranti Rai|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Calamity here could also lead to the political demise of a far less secure dictator than Stalin.
Putin's Criminal Olympics|Michael Weiss|January 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How could intelligence of the calamity be most gently communicated?
Fairy Fingers|Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie
It covered them in the day of their calamity, and their trust was under the shadow of its wings.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus|American Anti-Slavery Society
We were resolved to succeed or fail together, after the calamity had befallen us as much as before.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass|Frederick Douglass
After thirteen years of misgovernment and calamity this third member of the Kiuprili family was called to power.
The Turkish Empire, its Growth and Decay|Lord Eversley
I see myself now, face downwards in the orchard grass, broken-hearted by the calamity.
Thirty Years in Australia|Ada Cambridge

British Dictionary definitions for calamity

calamity

/ (kəˈlæmɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

a disaster or misfortune, esp one causing extreme havoc, distress, or misery

a state or feeling of deep distress or misery

Word Origin for calamity

C15: from French calamité, from Latin calamitās; related to Latin incolumis uninjured

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012