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 Daniel had arrived back in Venezuela the day of the disaster, after being deported from the United States. — Susana Erazo, CNN Money, 17 July 2026 The discrepancy is even more apparent when analyzing major disaster declarations based on presidential elections. — David A. Lieb, Fortune, 16 July 2026 China Anneng said the modular system can be transported to a disaster site, assembled, and placed into operation in just over 10 minutes. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 16 July 2026 The film follows Greengrass’ recent project,The Lost Bus, a disaster thriller starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 16 July 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
  • For the second year in a row, this quiet Hill Country town is digging itself out of a catastrophe that has mercilessly taken a community trying to heal and set them back on the path of mourning.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • Every child identified before a catastrophe reminds us that statistics represent real people.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 July 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • Given Zidane won the Champions League in three successive years as coach of Real Madrid, anything less than victory at the European Championship in 2028 will be considered a failure.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • At the time he was arrested, authorities had issued a separate warrant for Milton stemming from his failure to appear in court and alleged curfew violations in a retail theft case, court records show.
    — Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • Delivery had been delayed as the city grappled with the tragedy, a small but unforgettable reminder that Atlanta’s celebration had changed overnight.
    — Andrea Clement, AJC.com, 17 July 2026
  • Yellowstone sees the most deaths during the tourist months running from May through October, with July featuring nearly 25 percent of all recorded tragedies.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 16 July 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • Whether that’s a single-stock anomaly or a signal that the market has quietly repriced its tolerance for earnings disappointment across the sector is the question the rest of earnings season will start to answer.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 July 2026
  • Stranger still is the fact these non-native fish have developed a mysterious ability to vanish for months at a time in Lake Gaston – much to the disappointment of anglers.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 14 July 2026
Definition of disappointment
Noun
  • The rest of the season followed suit, delivering Teri's (Enuka Okuma) apocalypse story, and so much more.
    — Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 6 July 2026
  • The same year, another, longer-running TV version focused on the story of survivors after an alien apocalypse that had wiped out most of the Earth's population.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • For his first ten years as a professional, Messi was regarded as something of a bust at the international level.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • The other money factor is that podcasting’s boom cycle around 2019 inevitably turned into a bust cycle several years later.
    — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of bust
Noun
  • To say everything went wrong would be to undersell the scope of the calamity.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026
  • The operation was a testament to the growing effectiveness of a multinational collection of urban search-and-rescue squads — known as USAR — that have become ubiquitous life-savers at epicenters of calamity across the globe.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 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 22 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of disaster for Spanish Speakers

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