disaster

noun

di-ˈza-stər How to pronounce disaster (audio)
Definition of disasternext
1
as in catastrophe
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction hurricanes are natural disasters

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failure
something that has failed an utter disaster, the play opened and closed on the same miserable night

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 disaster At least 1,252 people were killed and more than 4,200 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 The honorees’ stories span animals searching disaster sites, walking hospital hallways and patrolling one of the busiest cities in the country, along with people working to improve how animals are treated. — Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026 The tribe, which requested a disaster declaration separately, was hit with flash flooding June 2-4 after a heavy rain and hail storm. — John Hult, States Newsroom, 3 Sep. 2026 That season’s trip to the West finals, alas, underscores what a disaster the Leonard era has been for this franchise, even as Leonard generally played amazingly. — John Hollinger, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disaster
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disaster
  1. catastrophe
  2. failure
  3. tragedy
  4. disappointment
  5. apocalypse
  6. bust
  7. calamity
Noun
  • More than 1,000 people have been confirmed dead and thousands remain missing after the catastrophe, according to authorities in both countries.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • As the story moves breathlessly through the neighborhood’s streets and interiors, Kodeih, who also edited the feature, and cinematographer Tony Kopec zero in on a jumpy, kinetic tension between looming catastrophe and potential triumph.
    — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • Their failure to receive one may be attributed to their having vague symptoms, such as a general feeling of malaise, weakness, or fluctuating muscle pain.
    — Jerome Groopman, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Compounding the issue was UM’s failure to get to the quarterback.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • The accident was one of the Portuguese capital’s worst tragedies in recent memory and cast a shadow over the city’s ongoing tourism boom.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • These days, the existential challenges faced by newspapers across the country sound more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a comedy.
    — Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • In the comments of an Instagram upload from Bustle, which also showed Stoermer’s Stories post, fans expressed their disappointment with Euphoria‘s conclusion in the comments.
    — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Those hoping the Iran war ends soon currently face disappointment.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of disappointment
Noun
  • Those forecasts add hope for office workers after top AI leaders previously signaled a jobs apocalypse was imminent.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Why private credit may avoid a ‘crisis-apocalypse’ Blackstone’s scale attracts outsized scrutiny, and investors’ attempts to pull money from its private credit funds earlier this year made headline news.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • And that was before Aaron Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, ended a two-year retirement to join a team about to embark on a boom-or-bust season.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • But for anyone disturbed by the way To Catch a Predator executes its faux-law enforcement busts, the movie risks becoming viscerally unpleasant.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of bust
Noun
  • Young Pavi and her twin sister, Nisha, live in a world that no longer sees the Avatar as humanity’s savior after it was devastated by a calamity.
    — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The flooding in Nepal is yet another calamity for a country grimly accustomed to crisis and upheaval.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of calamity

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disassociating
disaster
disasters
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Cite this Entry

“Disaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disaster. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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