disaster
Americannoun
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disasters
plural
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a calamitous event, especially one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood, airplane crash, or business failure.
- Synonyms:
- affliction, adversity, reverse, blow, accident, mishap, misadventure, misfortune, mischance
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Obsolete. an unfavorable aspect of a star or planet.
noun
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an occurrence that causes great distress or destruction
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a thing, project, etc, that fails or has been ruined
Synonym Usage
Disaster, calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm refer to adverse happenings often occurring suddenly and unexpectedly. A disaster may be caused by carelessness, negligence, bad judgment, or the like, or by natural forces, as a hurricane or flood: a railroad disaster. Calamity suggests great affliction, either personal or general; the emphasis is on the grief or sorrow caused: the calamity of losing a child. Catastrophe refers especially to the tragic outcome of a personal or public situation; the emphasis is on the destruction or irreplaceable loss: the catastrophe of a defeat in battle. Cataclysm, physically an earth-shaking change, refers to a personal or public upheaval of unparalleled violence: a cataclysm that turned his life in a new direction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of disaster
First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro, from dis- dis- 1 + astro “star” (from Latin astrum, from Greek ástron )
Explanation
An earthquake, an oil spill, an economic collapse, a party with inedible food and truly awful music: Each of these could be described as a disaster, a cataclysmic event causing extreme suffering, even total destruction. Disaster made its way into the English language from Greek. The second part of the word is derived from astron — "star" or "planet," familiar from words like astronomy and astronaut. Dis- is prefix with a meaning similar to "un-" or "mis-," but with clearly negative connotations. Translated literally, disaster means "bad or unlucky star," and it's a relic of a time when astrology was considered a serious science that could predict events — including disasters you might try to avoid — in your life on Earth!
Vocabulary lists containing disaster
Did You Planet? Words With Surprisingly Spacey Origins
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Oh, My Stars! A Solstice Sampler
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Calamity, Catastrophe, and Crisis: Disaster Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Is this the beginning of a disaster or a strange aberration?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
While unexpected, her defeat by Werro at the Stockholm Diamond League in June was far from a disaster.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
As the full scale of the disaster unfolded, rescue official Fathur Rahman told AFP at least 20 people were confirmed dead from four different towns on the island, popular with tourists.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
And we’re still recovering here from Hurricane Helene, a devastating climate disaster almost two years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Roads were often closed during a disaster, which was why his father liked to be at ground zero beforehand.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
"I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced a case like this."
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The overloaded government ferry -- a vital link for villagers and fish traders around the vast lake -- overturned in choppy waters on Tuesday in one of the country's worst passenger boat disasters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
GM, in its filing, said the deal aims to lock down parts in the event of a range of events, from cyberattacks to demand spikes to natural disasters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
On top of this, natural disasters and accidents can wipe out history.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Nothing to be nervous about! So it’s a big game. But in the grand scheme of things, in a world rife with famine, disease, war, natural disasters, and crime, is a game all that important?”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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.
