catastrophe
Americannoun
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a sudden and widespread disaster.
the catastrophe of war.
- Synonyms:
- calamity, misfortune
- Antonyms:
- triumph
-
any misfortune, mishap, or failure; fiasco.
The play was so poor our whole evening was a catastrophe.
-
a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one; a disastrous end.
the great catastrophe of the Old South at Appomattox.
- Antonyms:
- triumph
-
(in a drama) the point at which the circumstances overcome the central motive, introducing the close or conclusion; dénouement.
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Geology. a sudden, violent disturbance, especially of a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
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Also called catastrophe function. Mathematics. any of the mathematical functions that describe the discontinuities that are treated in catastrophe theory.
noun
-
a sudden, extensive, or notable disaster or misfortune
-
the denouement of a play, esp a classical tragedy
-
a final decisive event, usually causing a disastrous end
-
Also called: cataclysm. any sudden and violent change in the earth's surface caused by flooding, earthquake, or some other rapid process
Related Words
See disaster.
Other Word Forms
- catastrophal adjective
- catastrophic adjective
- catastrophical adjective
- catastrophically adverb
- supercatastrophe noun
Etymology
Origin of catastrophe
First recorded in 1570–80; from Greek katastrophḗ “an overturning,” from katastréphein “to overturn”; equivalent to cata- + strophe
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.
“Goodbye June” is far from a catastrophe, but it’s perhaps a greater sin that the film would be far more interesting if it were.
From Salon
The U.S. solar energy transition could slow if the supply of Chinese-made solar panels were suddenly cut off, for instance, but that wouldn’t be an immediate national-security catastrophe.
Scientists link the catastrophe to intense greenhouse conditions, oxygen loss in the oceans, widespread acidification, and massive volcanic eruptions tied to the breakup of the ancient Pangaean supercontinent.
From Science Daily
The teenagers huddled around the table leap into action, shouting instructions and acting out the correct strategies for just one of the potential catastrophes laid out in the board game called Master of Disaster.
From Barron's
Barring a catastrophe, the benchmark index will post its third consecutive annual gain, bringing its total rise over that period to 80%.
From Barron's
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.
