catastrophe
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Geology. a sudden, violent disturbance, especially of a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
-
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.
Little attention was paid to the environmental catastrophe for Lake Maracaibo, destination of much of the escaping crude.
From Los Angeles Times
This is not only a man-made humanitarian catastrophe.
From Los Angeles Times
Meanwhile, the personal catastrophe for Savannah Guthrie and her family led her to temporarily vacate her post as a staple of morning TV.
The law firm said: "Bright Horizons repeatedly dismissed concerns from parents about Chan's behaviour, and we believe their consistent culture of brushing concerns aside was key to enabling this catastrophe to happen."
From BBC
But to be a Sixers fan is to anticipate catastrophe, so Philadelphians were cautious when Malone was injured near the end of the 1983 season.
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.
