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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failure
something that has failed
the movie was a catastrophe, nearly bankrupting the studio that produced it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophe
Noun
-
Such lack of vision — or ample self-delusion — propelled Americans to disaster in Iraq, even with some competent advisers in the White House.—
Trudy Rubin,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026 -
Leaving Polis off the guest list of a recent governors’ dinner at the White House was the latest slap in the face of many that include rescinded federal grants, a vetoed water bill, rejected disaster fund requests, and the loss of two federal agencies.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Democrats continued to criticize the White House for its failure to provide a clear and consistent rationale for launching the war.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The emergencies included a patient with a life-threatening diabetes complication called diabetic ketoacidosis and a patient going into respiratory failure.—
Kaan Ozcan,
NBC news,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In 2021, 12-year-old Molly Steinsapir died after losing control of an e-bike on a steep hill in Pacific Palisades, a tragedy that led her parents to sue the manufacturer and brought new scrutiny to how e-bike companies market their products to families with children.—
Cierra Morgan
March 4,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Though the other children recovered, Nicholas died several days later, a tragedy Dominici said will shape the rest of her life.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The falling moon of Majora's Mask While not a blood moon, Majora's Mask also taps into a rich vein of lunar paranoia by way of its grinning apocalypse moon.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Anthropic wants to amend its current contracts in order to avoid, y’know, a possible mecha-apocalypse.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Up until the two hundred and fiftieth, which, save a miracle, is going to break all earlier records for dismal misadventure, regrettable calamity, and shocking violence, no fifty-year anniversary of the founding was more turbulent than the Bicentennial.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
-
However, Zilisch came roaring back, reached as high as fifth place, before taken out by calamity late.—
Kevin Lyttle,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophe. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
