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 Colombia’s government declared a national disaster, and world leaders from the United States, Mexico and across Latin America mobilized assistance. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026 The Burns Harbor Town Council started its meeting Wednesday with a declaration of a local emergency disaster resulting from Tuesday’s massive storm that swept through Northwest Indiana. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 Satellite images also have shown that the tanker is increasingly submerged, and experts have warned of an unprecedented environmental disaster if the vessel sinks or breaks open and leaks its entire cargo. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 The ship is similar in size and capacity to the Sanchi, an Iranian ship that collided with a freighter off China in 2018 in the world’s worst oil tanker disaster in decades. — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Aug. 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
  • Looking for traces of a Toba catastrophe in standard sediment cores was like timing a sprint with a calendar.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Near the end of the novel, the reader finds Anna living inside a kaleidoscope of catastrophe.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • The failures of England’s previous generations were multi-faceted, but how much did the national culture feed into the acceptance of their behaviour?
    — Mark Carey, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
  • These can overwhelm and damage your kidneys, leading to kidney failure.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • Officials say Monday's tragedy is far from an isolated incident and are urging the public to slow down and pay attention.
    — Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Through rapid-fire verbal repartee, constant close-ups, and frantic cuts, Deramas treads a careful line between tragedy and comedy, the latter a psychological weapon against the former.
    — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • This cultlike existence has resulted in resentment and disappointment.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Waller was largely a disappointment during his one season with the Giants after being acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders for a third-round pick in 2023.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of disappointment
Noun
  • While his beloved character didn’t outlive the zombie apocalypse, his romance with Pak bloomed.
    — Adrianne Reece, InStyle, 28 July 2026
  • Whitehead plumbed his boyhood fondness for horror movies in Zone One (2011), a zombie apocalypse novel set in a post-9/11 lower Manhattan in the wake of a pandemic.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 July 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • And yet each leg up in the market heightens the risk of more Situational Awareness-like squeezes, and of individualized distress giving way to a broader bust.
    — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The novelty vending machines mold souvenir sculptures — a train car, a gorilla, a bust of Abraham Lincoln — in under a minute, filling a two-sided mold with hot plastic, then hollowing it out with compressed air.
    — Juliet Bennett Rylah, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of bust
Noun
  • Buenaventura declared a local state of calamity to facilitate its emergency response and request additional assistance from the national government.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026
  • To be fair, a number of the calamities should have been foreseen, probably.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of calamity

Browse Nearby Words

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 15 Aug. 2026.

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