noun
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a disaster or misfortune, esp one causing extreme havoc, distress, or misery
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a state or feeling of deep distress or misery
Related Words
See disaster.
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”
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.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over on Thursday, called the fire "a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions", and announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.
From Barron's
The collection of works called Disasters and Interventions transforms calmness into calamity.
From BBC
It’s a genuine calamity—there are deaths, as well as displacement of babies and the ill, including one nun recently diagnosed with tuberculosis but who had no choice but to continue caring for the kids.
Everywhere, it seems, Christmas keeps close company with calamity.
To underline the obvious once more: The college football media ecosystem is not built to handle human calamities like this.
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.
