catastrophe

noun

kə-ˈta-strə-(ˌ)fē How to pronounce catastrophe (audio)
Definition of catastrophenext
1
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction more than one natural catastrophe has threatened to destroy their farm over the years

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2
as in failure
something that has failed the movie was a catastrophe, nearly bankrupting the studio that produced it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of catastrophe The contrast is a reminder of the differences between the neighboring nations — their political systems, resources and the strength of their institutions — and a demonstration of how those can take on life-or-death importance in catastrophes. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 But Naipaul reminds us about how ubiquitous premonitions of catastrophe and doom were in the 1970s. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 Rather than build up to an intense moment like this, Obreht opens the novel with a catastrophe. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026 The intimate seven-episode drama hit close to home, vividly depicting an environmental catastrophe and the political crises that follow. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for catastrophe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophe
  1. disaster
  2. failure
  3. tragedy
  4. apocalypse
  5. calamity
Noun
  • The baby’s father, Andres Garcia, survived the boat disaster, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN.
    — Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Rescuers continued recovering bodies from the artisanal mining site in Zamboye, near the border with Cameroon, but local workers said the response lacked the equipment and expertise needed for a disaster of such scale.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of disaster
Noun
  • The failure by American and Canadian trade negotiators to reach a deal came after nearly two weeks of furious talks.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Ultimately Keegan’s team fell short, but this was no failure.
    — Michael Walker, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • At first, its plea to remain somewhere in an old lover’s life can feel like the whole tragedy.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Boeing has admitted fault in these tragedies, attributing the cause of the crashes to a flawed Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
    — Erin Jensen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • Worried about the dog in the sci-fi apocalypse thriller The End of Oak Street?
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026
  • But now, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pushing back against the predictions of a job apocalypse once made by his fellow tech CEOs, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • The latest findings indicated the vest could reduce an astronaut’s radiation dose by about 60% in a solar storm as fierce as the one in 1972 and by nearly 40% in a calamity mirroring 1989.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • What followed was a season of extended power outages, blue-tarped roofs and yet a strange sense of community, as neighbors went out of their way to look after those that had shared in their calamity.
    — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of calamity

Browse Nearby Words

cat (around)
catastrophe
catastrophes
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Cite this Entry

“Catastrophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophe. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on catastrophe

Nglish: Translation of catastrophe for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about catastrophe

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