calamitous

adjective

ca·​lam·​i·​tous kə-ˈla-mə-təs How to pronounce calamitous (audio)
: being, causing, or accompanied by calamity
calamitous events
a calamitous earthquake
calamitously adverb

Examples of calamitous in a Sentence

the calamitous state of the nation's economy a calamitous decision to sell their products online exclusively ruined the business
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His 2001 novella God’s Debris describes a pandeistic philosophy, while his 2004 novel The Religion War tells the tale of a man on a mission to stop a calamitous war between Christians and Muslims. Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 3 Nov. 2025 To sum up, that is four different managers over five spells, none of whom were actually sacked, just seven league wins, and one calamitous relegation. Nick Miller, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025 Schitt’s Creek made the calamitous Rose family famous, and their escapades can now be found in one place in Canada. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025 Other reforms introduced under Roosevelt included the founding of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which had a mandate to protect investors and maintain fair and orderly markets, and the federal insurance of bank deposits, which ended a calamitous wave of bank runs. John Cassidy, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for calamitous

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French calamiteux "suffering misfortune, miserable," borrowed from Latin calamitōsus "liable to damage or disaster, afflicted by disaster, ill-starred, involving damage or disaster, ruinous," by haplology from *calamitātōsus, from calamitāt-, calamitās "disaster, misfortune, calamity" + -ōsus -ous

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of calamitous was in 1545

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Calamitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calamitous. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

calamitous

adjective
ca·​lam·​i·​tous kə-ˈlam-ət-əs How to pronounce calamitous (audio)
: causing or accompanied by calamity
calamitous events
calamitously adverb
calamitousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on calamitous

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