disaster

[ dih-zas-ter, -zah-ster ]

noun

1. 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

2. Obsolete. an unfavorable aspect of a star or planet.

disaster

/ dɪˈzɑːstə /

noun

1. an occurrence that causes great distress or destruction
2. a thing, project, etc, that fails or has been ruined

Derived Forms

• disˈastrous, adjective

Other Words From

• predis·aster noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of disaster¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro, from dis- dis- ¹ + astro “star” (from Latin astrum, from Greek ástron )

Word History and Origins

Origin of disaster¹

C16 (originally in the sense: malevolent astral influence): from Italian disastro, from dis- (pejorative) + astro star, from Latin astrum, from Greek astron

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

They remind us of the urgency of stopping greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate-fueled disasters and chaos in the future.

From Vox

PlayStation 5 pre-orders are open, but the situation is a bit of a disaster.

From Ars Technica

The size, speed, and timing of the wildfires, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, have created a unique disaster.

From Vox

It’s scenario planning for the worst-case disaster which could occur.

From Freakonomics

For one of America’s biggest states, it’s the fourth decade of an accelerating disaster.

From Quartz

And black fury toward cops today is fueled by historic economic disparities and by the economic disaster of the past decade plus.

From The Daily Beast

Also like the Air France disaster, the pilots of AirAsia had no time to issue a mayday call.

From The Daily Beast

This was very blunt and surprising to hear from any official in charge of an aviation disaster.

From The Daily Beast

It was an unmitigated disaster, and Lee compares it to the healthcare.gov rollout.

From The Daily Beast

THE NEW YORK TIMES/JILL ABRAMSON DISASTER: It was messy enough when, on May 14, New York Times Co.

From The Daily Beast

The small grain crops had been burned to a crisp, and disaster hung over the land.

From Project Gutenberg

The menace of a thunder-cloud approached as in his childhood's dream; disaster lurked behind the quiet outer show.

From Project Gutenberg

Mobs of people filled the streets, wildly denouncing the incapability of a Government which could lead them to such disaster.

From Project Gutenberg

He faced his loss with stoical fortitude, as I believe he would have confronted any disaster that life could bring.

From Project Gutenberg

To endeavor to cut through such an obstacle would undoubtedly have brought about a disaster.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• calamity
• catastrophe
• collapse
• crash
• debacle
• defeat
• emergency
• failure
• fiasco
• flood
• harm
• hazard
• holocaust
• mishap
• setback
• tragedy
• woe