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:
While the weather painted a chaotic picture, stories from Malibu residents were of neighbors coming together as a community in a way only the specter of disaster could prompt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
"The exceptionally high proportion of claims that had already been settled two months after the disaster reflects this commitment," she added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
But not until Wednesday did the offer appear to finally have been taken up, after talks involving disaster management officials on both sides, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The King and Queen, along with the Prince of Wales, will return to south Wales next week to pay their respects at the Aberfan memorial garden exactly 60 years since the disaster.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
A French army sent to put down the rebellion met with disaster.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Such disasters can sweep across national boundaries, threatening lives, infrastructure and livelihoods far downstream - making co-operation between the countries sharing the Himalayas increasingly important.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
By 1900 B.C., natural disasters made the large Indus Valley settlements less hospitable, and the culture slowly melted away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Instead, she effectively told voters that the past four years of disasters, inefficiencies and ineptitude are still a better option than taking a chance on the City Hall equivalent of the classroom dork.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
My wife says I’ve built an endless list of hypothetical disasters so I never have to make a decision.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Michael considered leaving, but a series of disasters click-click-clicked through his mind.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
