1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a calamitous decision to sell their products online exclusively ruined the business
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a calamitous flood that destroyed the town's central business district
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of calamitous
After his calamitous first inning, Warren did not allow another run through the end of the fifth.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Call it a valiant, optimistic, perhaps even a calamitous misreading.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Under pressure, Boeing followed, but its approach proved calamitous.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
That window was pretty calamitous, too.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for calamitous
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Call it a valiant, optimistic, perhaps even a calamitous misreading.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Under pressure, Boeing followed, but its approach proved calamitous.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025
That window was pretty calamitous, too.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for calamitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamitous
Adjective
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Pittman, 63, was credited with stabilizing the program in the wake of the disastrous 4-20 run in two years under Chad Morris (2018-19), and had a 32-34 record in his first FBS head coaching job.—
Tom Murphy,
Arkansas Online,
28 Sep. 2025
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Inconsistencies in recent years, along with a disastrous 56-13 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, spelled the end of Pittman's tenure at Arkansas.—
Reice Shipley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Unfortunately for the Giants, this win was marred by a devastating injury for superstar second-year wide receiver Malik Nabers.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
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Lariosaurus valceresii was a small aquatic reptile that appeared shortly after the devastating Permian mass extinction 252 million years ago.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The crossover came amid recent turmoil, including Colbert’s show being canceled by in July and Kimmel's temporary suspension by ABC in September following controversial comments about the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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And one expert has suggested that steel or concrete barriers can also help guard against deadly attacks like the one in Grand Blanc Township, as well as unintentional fatal wrecks and may even help businesses stave off plaintiff lawsuits.—
Frank Witsil,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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All the rest are likely to shine in movies by good directors, and most actors whose reputations aren’t illustriously artistic have mainly been unfortunate in their collaborations.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
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Irish butter may now an internationally marketable commodity, but in Swift’s day, the Irish peasantry fought back against their replacement by cattle by maiming and driving the unfortunate cattle off cliffs.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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When the federal government reached an agreement with Alabama officials last October to address destructive flooding in the predominantly Black Shiloh community, residents thought their calls for help had finally been answered.—
Maia Rosenfeld,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
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Smart fabric for roads Road maintenance has long relied on visible surface wear or destructive core drilling to assess deeper damage.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The floods will return – and some will be catastrophic.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
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The law defines catastrophic risk narrowly as incidents potentially causing 50+ deaths or $1 billion in damage through weapons assistance, autonomous criminal acts, or loss of control.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Calamitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamitous. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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