calamity

noun

ca·​lam·​i·​ty kə-ˈla-mə-tē How to pronounce calamity (audio)
plural calamities
1
: a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering
calamities of nature
an economic calamity
2
: a state of deep distress or misery caused by major misfortune or loss

Examples of calamity in a Sentence

Twenty two years passed. Twenty-two years of excellent health and the boundless self-assurance that flows from being fit—twenty-two years spared the adversary that is illness and the calamity that waits in the wings. Phillip Roth, Everyman, 2006
A resentment born of the suspicion that all along the media were up to their usual tricks, hyping a national calamity to the max in order to make us buy more copies and tune into TV specials … Christopher Buckley, Time, 29 Nov. 1999
In the wake of this year's unending calamities, there has been renewed discussion of the need for an international rapid deployment force that can kick down doors to help victims of disasters. Kathleen Hunt, New York Times Magazine, 28 July 1991
floods, earthquakes, and other calamities He predicted calamity for the economy.
Recent Examples on the Web But Hamid threw himself into camp life, befriending neighbors and smoothing over daily calamities. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 As tangible evidence of the widening economic calamities in San Francisco, while the San Francisco-San Mateo metro region got off to a strong start in job creation over the first six months of 2023, the final half of last year told a more ominous tale. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 In Forbes, senior contributor Edward Segal compared Lahaina to California’s 2018 Camp Fire, noting similarities and gleaning insights that may help avoid another calamity in the wake of the next fire that threatens a community. Richard Danforth, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 October 7 was the worst calamity in Israel’s history. Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2024 But these conditions are embedded in a cascade of extensive and often unexpected consequences of wildfires, hurricanes, and other calamities related to climate change. Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 26 Jan. 2024 The third season, which began streaming in the fall of 2022, features a darkly hilarious episode in which Ramy visits Israel on business and gets himself into a series of escalating calamities that somehow culminate in him helping the Israeli Defense Forces arrest a Palestinian boy. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024 The answer is, in part, that the Spanish-flu pandemic was so braided together with the end of the First World War, which accelerated its spread (most brutally on troopships headed home), that one calamity was buried under another, more photogenic one. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 But if New Hampshire's results are decisive, that upheaval would almost certainly be precipitated by some personal catastrophe or calamity, not by primary voters. Susan Page, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'calamity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English calamytey, from Latin calamitat-, calamitas; perhaps akin to Latin clades destruction

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of calamity was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near calamity

Cite this Entry

“Calamity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamity. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

calamity

noun
ca·​lam·​i·​ty kə-ˈlam-ət-ē How to pronounce calamity (audio)
plural calamities
1
: deep distress or misery
2
: an event that causes great harm

More from Merriam-Webster on calamity

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