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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 On the other hand, Italians viewed the blood staying solid as the sign of a looming catastrophe. — Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026 Commercial insurance pricing reflects carrier results, reinsurance costs, litigation trends, catastrophe losses and the performance of entire industries. — Randy Sadler, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026 Experts across computer science, philosophy and other fields have envisioned numerous routes by which a future AI system might cause a global catastrophe, either by escaping human control or in the hands of an unscrupulous people. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026 Not every catastrophe that followed September 11 can be laid at America’s feet. — Ayman M. Mohyeldin, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for catastrophe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophe
  1. disaster
  2. failure
  3. tragedy
  4. apocalypse
  5. calamity
Noun
  • Los Angeles County officials aim to break ground on the new Eaton Canyon Nature Center before 2028, with plans to construct a facility that can withstand the region’s changing climate and future disasters.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The Challenger disaster was of course the 1986 explosion of NASA’s eponymous space shuttle shortly after launch, which left all seven crew members dead.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of disaster
Noun
  • It is built the same way that the figure skater builds a routine or the running back learns to explode through a crack in the line—repetition after repetition, failure after failure, with no shortcut available and no machine that can stand in.
    — Dan Rockmore, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • That makes preventing deployment and routing failures especially important as these fleets expand.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • The Edmiston family looks forward to bringing accountability to those who exploited tragedy to divide and injure.
    — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • But Pavese understood that the only lesson tragedy really teaches is that there is no end to suffering.
    — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • His character in Resident Evil serves the opposite role of the normie who simply does not want to acknowledge the unfolding of an apocalypse around him.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Continue reading … Who quit his job and predicted an AI apocalypse?
    — , FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • But Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, doesn't think investors should fear another market calamity.
    — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Analysts who spoke to ABC News disagreed sharply about the likelihood of such a calamity, however.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Sep. 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 26 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on catastrophe

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about catastrophe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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