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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failure
something that has failed
the movie was a catastrophe, nearly bankrupting the studio that produced it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of catastrophe
Rubio is the president’s top adviser on both national security and diplomacy at a moment when the United States has blundered into an unpopular war that appears to be a strategic catastrophe.
—
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
Mays faces a second-degree murder charge and a causing catastrophe charge.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2026
Most damningly, that catastrophe comes out as a fiery blaze that’s routinely overwhelming but seldom compelling, resulting in a tedious experience that might be better live-streamed on UFC.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 May 2026
Two boys once triggered a catastrophe – a fireworks mishap that razed an apartment complex and claimed the wife and child of one of its residents, a man named Nomoto, who also suffered grievous burns.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for catastrophe
David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
Mays faces a second-degree murder charge and a causing catastrophe charge.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2026
Most damningly, that catastrophe comes out as a fiery blaze that’s routinely overwhelming but seldom compelling, resulting in a tedious experience that might be better live-streamed on UFC.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 May 2026
Two boys once triggered a catastrophe – a fireworks mishap that razed an apartment complex and claimed the wife and child of one of its residents, a man named Nomoto, who also suffered grievous burns.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for catastrophe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophe
Noun
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With Edgewater in the flood zone and Station 42 and Three Rock in disaster response mode, Bode (Max Thieriot) was on a side quest to make amends with Danny Marks (Mike O'Malley), a victim of Bode's criminal past.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
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Through packing serious, scalable power into a mobile shipping container, VIVIFY is targeting remote industrial sites, disaster zones, forward military bases, and power-hungry data centers.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
22 May 2026
Noun
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The Virginia house of burgesses voted to thank him and the militia for their service, with the lawmakers attributing the defeat to the failure of the other colonies to come to Virginia’s aid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
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Rory McIlroy thinks back on three holes — his failure to birdie the par-5 ninth and the par-5 16th, and a big miss in his biggest moment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 May 2026
Noun
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The Paramount+ drama series follows a New York family that relocates to rural Montana after a family tragedy.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
21 May 2026
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That’s not to minimize the tragedies of the early 737 Max crashes, but to acknowledge that Boeing, airlines, and regulators took those events seriously and addressed the problems.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
20 May 2026
Noun
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That presentiment lies behind the many present expressions of apocalypse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
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This helped to set off the SaaS apocalypse.—
Steve Banker,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Noun
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Terra was sued by survivors of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside who claimed that vibrations from construction of his luxury Eighty-Seven Park tower next door contributed to the calamity.—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
18 May 2026
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Back in the late ’90s, the Federal Reserve (and everyone else) was sweating a potential Y2K calamity.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophe. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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