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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

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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 Perhaps that sense of urgency was a factor that led Paul Walker to found Reach Out WorldWide, a nonprofit disaster-response organization, in 2010. — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026 The authors recommended that the county update its County Recovery Plan, including a disaster debris plan, as well as formalize a disaster recovery center coordinator position and create a one-stop web platform for post-disaster services. — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Council also took action to extend the local disaster emergency declaration for another 30 days and to authorize that the city of Warsaw would receive reimbursement for sending their employees and equipment to help with the cleanup. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026 In an interview with The Economist in 2023, just before his 100th birthday, Kissinger warned that the US and China had five to 10 years to avoid an AI disaster. — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 15 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
  • Sometimes a president doesn’t have to ask for the country’s attention, because catastrophe has already gathered it.
    — John Dickerson, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The catastrophe was a reminder of not only the destructiveness of Israeli bombing, but also the depth of the continuing privation in Gaza today.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
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
  • Chubb was a slight disappointment in his Bills debut from a pass-rushing perspective.
    — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • And Harvey faces his overbearing father’s disappointment most glaringly with the public humiliation of an emotional breakdown while taking part in an amateur wrestling match the bodybuilder entered to prove his physical strength.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of disappointment
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
  • While the era’s bust eventually brought most of those ventures to an end, Brown said the experience taught him not to let the fear of failure—or looking foolish—get in the way.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • There’s been a boom-or-bust nature to TCU’s success getting after the quarterback with it often feeling like either the quarterback will be brought down for a sack or having plenty of time to throw.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of bust
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

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 24 Sep. 2026.

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