as in disasters
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
this latest breakdown of the car is inconvenient, but not a calamity
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of calamities
Levine Cava bristled, saying the only money left to fund the choppers would be the county’s emergency fund — dollars reserved for hurricanes or other calamities.
—
Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
The waves of our joys and calamities, both collective and personal, lap on the same shore, one after another, crashing over one another without pause.
—Michael Jerome Plunkett
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
Season 2 will likely follow the fallout of that decision and all the calamities that will no doubt arise from it.
—Lucy Ford, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
Toews has long plumbed the calamities and contradictions of her biography in her fiction.
—Kristen Martin, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2025
Cheaper financing amid these calamities helped fuel the market’s eventual recovery.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 18 Aug. 2025
Like the tragedy of the recent California wildfires as well as so many other calamities of our time, each one impacts us all to one degree or another.
—Michael B. Teiger, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2025
Everyone in the audience laughed when the capybara first appeared onscreen, even the little kid behind us who had cried earlier, scared of some of the calamities befalling the feline hero.
—Gary Shteyngart, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
No assessments have been levied by the California plan since 1995, the 2022 report noted, despite multiple high-cost calamities in the state.
—Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2025
Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
The waves of our joys and calamities, both collective and personal, lap on the same shore, one after another, crashing over one another without pause.
—Michael Jerome Plunkett
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
Season 2 will likely follow the fallout of that decision and all the calamities that will no doubt arise from it.
—Lucy Ford, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
Toews has long plumbed the calamities and contradictions of her biography in her fiction.
—Kristen Martin, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2025
Cheaper financing amid these calamities helped fuel the market’s eventual recovery.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 18 Aug. 2025
Like the tragedy of the recent California wildfires as well as so many other calamities of our time, each one impacts us all to one degree or another.
—Michael B. Teiger, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2025
Everyone in the audience laughed when the capybara first appeared onscreen, even the little kid behind us who had cried earlier, scared of some of the calamities befalling the feline hero.
—Gary Shteyngart, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
No assessments have been levied by the California plan since 1995, the 2022 report noted, despite multiple high-cost calamities in the state.
—Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamities
Noun
-
On Tuesday, 85 scientists released a 459-page rebuttal to the DOE report, highlighting a large body of scientific literature pointing to how climate change can exacerbate droughts, floods, crop failures, and other disasters.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Sep. 2025
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Greengrass viewed the story of The Lost Bus through a similar lens, following a micro, primal cinematic story of survival that was ultimately about what these disasters mean on a macro level.—
Tomris Laffly,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sagan described another major pathway to unintended nuclear catastrophes.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The organization then uses those precogs — and Luke is one of them — to prevent global catastrophes at the expense of children's lives.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The audience for 2025’s reel of zombie apocalypses lives in a world shaped, in part, by Americans’ refusal to accept an aging Joe Biden’s ineligibility for President.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
After tragedies or natural disasters, fake nonprofits or misleading crowdfunding campaigns pop up online, siphoning donations away from legitimate causes.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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For some people within the agency, the multiple safety reviews for NASA missions are a necessary safeguard after the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia tragedies.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Calamities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamities. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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