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

Relevance

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 Two climbers remain missing and the search is ongoing following what the Alpine Club described as one of Pakistan’s deadliest mountaineering disasters. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026 At the tail end of December, Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a similar disaster when an AI agent deleted and recreated part of its environment, causing a 13-hour disruption. — Imran Aftab, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026 In the aftermath of the disaster, dam construction laws were tightened. — Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 The disaster triggered one of the largest international humanitarian responses in the country’s recent history, with rescue teams arriving from the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and several other nations. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 5 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
  • There are also now safety measures being proposed along the river to prevent future tragedies.
    — Andrew Ramos, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Following her passing, Jane was the first sibling to hear the news and told her brother and sister of the tragedy.
    — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • And ultimately, the deepest disappointment comes from realizing that one of modern studio comedy’s sharpest romantic observers has confused awareness for insight, and in the process, left his most devoted fans behind.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Much to the disappointment of those fans who hoped to see Welbeck wear United’s shirt again, the club never showed any indication of pursuing him this summer.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 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
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Disaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disaster. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on disaster

Nglish: Translation of disaster for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gnomic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All