calamitous

adjective

ca·​lam·​i·​tous kə-ˈla-mə-təs 

: being, causing, or accompanied by calamity

calamitous events

a calamitous earthquake

calamitously adverb

Synonyms

• disastrous
• fatal
• unfortunate
• catastrophic

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

Find out as editor-in-chief C. B. Cebulski, conductor of X Tom Brevoort, and a lineup of uncanny talent shed light on the calamitous new epic with first looks, reveals, insight on the titles leading into the event, and more. —Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025

About a mile south — at a rural corner lot since flattened by Tuesday’s calamitous explosions at a fireworks storage facility — laid the place where their missing sons and grandsons, respectively, were last known to be. —Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2025

For Mao, this was to shore up power following the calamitous Great Leap Forward and amid the tumult of the Cultural Revolution. —William Hurst, Foreign Affairs, 3 July 2025

Red lettering splashes across the departures board, indicating a calamitous level of cancellations. —Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

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

Kids Definition

calamitous

adjective

ca·​lam·​i·​tous kə-ˈlam-ət-əs 

: causing or accompanied by calamity

calamitous events

calamitously adverb

calamitousness noun