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
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Recent Examples of calamities
Whereas much of the original play unfolds as a steady stream of callers to the Tesmans’ estate, DaCosta cleverly restages these various interpersonal calamities against the backdrop of a lavish party.
—
Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Oct. 2025
The piling on of hurdles, unforeseen challenges, and calamities is almost ridiculous.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 7 Oct. 2025
In the episode, eight of the nine ringers suffer calamities on the eve of the game which preclude their participation, with Sax held on comically-unfounded suspicion of committing approximately 600 murders in the New York City area.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 28 Sep. 2025
These calamities drastically reduce the genetic diversity in a group.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2025
In the decades since, more advanced simulations show how a warming planet could trigger all sorts of calamities, from heat waves and superstorms to desertification and ecosystem collapse.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
These calamities drastically reduce the genetic diversity in a group.
—Jayde N. Hirniak, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
If these calamities unfold, the revenue projections, total costs and net transfer balances will be a little lower, too, with the cumulative cashflow balance being higher, at £161million by the summer of 2028.
—Matt Slater, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
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
Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Oct. 2025
The piling on of hurdles, unforeseen challenges, and calamities is almost ridiculous.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 7 Oct. 2025
In the episode, eight of the nine ringers suffer calamities on the eve of the game which preclude their participation, with Sax held on comically-unfounded suspicion of committing approximately 600 murders in the New York City area.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 28 Sep. 2025
These calamities drastically reduce the genetic diversity in a group.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2025
In the decades since, more advanced simulations show how a warming planet could trigger all sorts of calamities, from heat waves and superstorms to desertification and ecosystem collapse.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
These calamities drastically reduce the genetic diversity in a group.
—Jayde N. Hirniak, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
If these calamities unfold, the revenue projections, total costs and net transfer balances will be a little lower, too, with the cumulative cashflow balance being higher, at £161million by the summer of 2028.
—Matt Slater, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamities
Noun
-
Excluding disasters, sudden surges of this magnitude in requests for food or any other need are rare at 211s, and can signal both public worry and need, as happened in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Matthew W. Kreuter,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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But Kalmaegi also collapsed flood-control infrastructure in the province that was ostensibly meant to protect citizens in such disasters.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
But catastrophes also tend to reveal deficits in society, and the patterns of destruction and abandonment that followed the fire—which have roots in America’s past and its present—tell us something about the country’s future, too.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
10 Nov. 2025
-
While people’s claims history, inflation, higher labor and construction costs play into increases nationwide, Coloradans face the additional burden of living in a state where the risk is high of catastrophes wreaking billions of dollars in damage.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Luna is dreamy, while Jane is matter-of-fact, even about family tragedies.—
Elizabeth B. Kim,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
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Flags are usually flown at half-staff after national tragedies or deaths of government officials, military members or other first responders.—
Cailey Gleeson,
jsonline.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Calamities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamities. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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