1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a calamitous decision to sell their products online exclusively ruined the business
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of calamitous
Prior to the calamitous war following the attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel fought five wars with Hamas, between 2008 and 2021.
—
Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Earth has long been deemed safe from a calamitous collision with a certain small asteroid in 2032.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
With a calamitous season now in the books, the Damon Stoudamire era at Georgia Tech is over after only three seasons, the school announced Sunday.
—Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 8 Mar. 2026
When parents and teachers raised children to to believe that their futures mattered; when leaders transcended ideology to make communities stronger and better-prepared to stand together in calamitous times.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamitous
Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Earth has long been deemed safe from a calamitous collision with a certain small asteroid in 2032.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
With a calamitous season now in the books, the Damon Stoudamire era at Georgia Tech is over after only three seasons, the school announced Sunday.
—Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 8 Mar. 2026
When parents and teachers raised children to to believe that their futures mattered; when leaders transcended ideology to make communities stronger and better-prepared to stand together in calamitous times.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamitous
Adjective
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Stearns had nothing to do with any of them — and everything to do with the disastrous offseason that made the Mets the worst team in baseball for most of April.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
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Based on a script by Justin Varava that made the 2024 Black List, Turpentine follows a deadbeat son who hires friends to rob his own parents to pay off a bookie, with disastrous results.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Nearly all industrial hydrogen is currently produced by stripping it from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, a process that emits devastating amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
18 May 2026
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Putin has claimed that Oreshnik’s multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can’t be intercepted, and that several such missiles used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Graham himself would also be out of luck if past Trump criticism were always politically fatal.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
19 May 2026
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Moments after a security guard broke up the beating and the teenagers scattered, the 13-year-old came upon David and his girlfriend at the fountain plaza next to the theaters where the fatal stabbing took place.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
Adjective
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However, Cincinnati and Washington have been done in by unfortunate injuries and organizational disorder.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
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The unfortunate problem is that, like most other things, the system can be gamed—people could submit flawed content that lists people as authors who have never been involved.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 May 2026
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In late March a teen takeover in Hyde Park turned destructive, badly damaging cars.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
20 May 2026
Adjective
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In July 1997, parts of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic were struck by catastrophic river flooding that left more than 100 people dead.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
14 May 2026
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Blake scrambles back to prevent the catastrophic, but the shot flies over the bar.—
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Calamitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamitous. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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