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
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Recent Examples of disaster
Perhaps the most remarkable feat was getting Trump to more forcefully back Ukraine in its war with Russia — a win for European leaders and for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his diplomatic disaster at the White House in March 2025.
—
ABC News, 18 June 2026
Indianapolis weather radar Households should prepare for severe weather by having a disaster readiness plan, the Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency says.
—John Tufts, IndyStar, 18 June 2026
And, in Israel, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents and his coalition partners see the developments as a disaster for Israeli national-security interests, with Hezbollah still standing in Lebanon and the Iranian regime not just standing but newly emboldened.
—Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
In sports, mind-wandering is often seen as negative because inattention at a crucial moment can lead to disaster.
—Eric Zillmer, The Conversation, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for disaster
ABC News, 18 June 2026
Indianapolis weather radar Households should prepare for severe weather by having a disaster readiness plan, the Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency says.
—John Tufts, IndyStar, 18 June 2026
And, in Israel, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents and his coalition partners see the developments as a disaster for Israeli national-security interests, with Hezbollah still standing in Lebanon and the Iranian regime not just standing but newly emboldened.
—Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
In sports, mind-wandering is often seen as negative because inattention at a crucial moment can lead to disaster.
—Eric Zillmer, The Conversation, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for disaster
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disaster
Noun
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Days before the five-year anniversary of the 2021 building collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside, the federal government has published findings that determined the structure of the Champlain Towers South condominium started failing about three weeks before the catastrophe.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
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Chile introduced a tax deduction for catastrophe insurance premiums and resilience retrofit investment.—
Nina Seega,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Noun
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Taking the midway point of those numbers, an opening weekend of $45 million would be a monumental failure.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 June 2026
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Then came this spring’s historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways.—
Tammy Webber,
Fortune,
23 June 2026
Noun
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Netflix also has a pair of strong four-hour adaptations in the harrowing Lord of the Flies and the darkly comic political tragedy of Death by Lightning.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
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Since these leaks are invisible and odorless, a portable carbon monoxide detector is the only way to prevent a tragedy.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
17 June 2026
Noun
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For some advocacy groups, this latest attempt came as a huge disappointment.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
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And to keep fighting to fulfill the promise of this nation, even in the face of cruelty and bitter disappointment.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Noun
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And just when things could not look rosier, the SaaS apocalypse occurred.—
Steve Banker,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
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Not for the faint of heart, California’s Salton Sea conjures a sense of apocalypse.—
Chelsee Lowe,
Travel + Leisure,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Weil says Rockmount has weathered booms and busts over its eighty years of business.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
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This was a playoffs-or-bust year for a lot of people in the Mets organization.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Noun
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The calamity is the deadliest crash involving a B-52 bomber since 1982.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
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In early times, most humans barely paid attention to weather calamities because the region was so sparsely populated.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disaster. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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