disasters

noun

plural of disaster
1
as in catastrophes
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 failures
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 disasters Next week, for the first time ever, Taiwan will deliberately slow its mobile internet speed, testing how citizens would communicate if bandwidth becomes scarce in emergencies ranging ⁠from disasters to a Chinese invasion. — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026 Some of Europe’s biggest insurance companies told CNBC this week that the region isn’t adequately prepared to deal with the risks of wildfires and weather disasters, leaving a substantial share of financial damage uninsured. — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026 The man responsible for one of the greatest engineering marvels of his time, the 233-mile aqueduct that gave a semiarid region a world-class city, now admitted responsibility for one of the greatest engineering disasters in American history. — Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 Girardi was once among the most prominent lawyers in the nation, often representing victims of major disasters against powerful companies. — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 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 Disaster repair funds at the ready Between 1980 and 2024, Florida averaged just over two billion-dollar weather disasters each year. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026 But as disasters become more frequent and more complex, today’s generation of search, rescue, surveillance, and reconnaissance technology may not provide the endurance and technological capabilities required for some emergency-response applications. — Nia Bowers, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026 Keeping social connection amid disasters As global temperatures rise, driven in large part by the burning of fossil fuels, climate change increasingly affects daily life. — Fiona Doherty, The Conversation, 5 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disasters
  1. catastrophes
  2. failures
  3. tragedies
  4. disappointments
  5. apocalypses
  6. bombs
  7. calamities
  8. losers
Noun
  • Of course, this growing mass constitutes a serious threat to the ocean ecosystem, not to mention the environmental catastrophes regularly caused by tanker accidents themselves.
    — Alexander Klose, Scientific American, 24 July 2026
  • Insurance is a risk mitigation product, and insurance carriers may choose not to renew with you in case of sustained catastrophes.
    — Kumar Rupesh, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of catastrophes
Noun
  • The suit alleges that several key components of hospital protocol were ignored or improperly followed and that those failures directly contributed to the actor’s death.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of failures
Noun
  • Lucas believes the city also has a responsibility to celebrate more than its tragedies.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Extreme heat, drought, hail and wildfires are rampant across the world, and fires are no longer just occasional tragedies.
    — Kate Dingwall, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 July 2026
Definition of tragedies
Noun
  • While retrograde, however, Saturn puts a magnifying glass on everything from past goals to the fears and disappointments that could have influenced your decisions.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Mercury retrograde The Phoenix Mercury are one of the biggest disappointments of the season.
    — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 28 July 2026
Definition of disappointments
Noun
  • Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
  • And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.
    — JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
Definition of apocalypses
Noun
  • Russia also launched glide bombs and drones of various types at the regional capital, according to the head of regional administration, Oleh Hryhorov.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • According to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, Jason and Megan Showers, ages 45 and 38, are charged with one count of placing explosives near property and one count of possession of bombs with unlawful intent.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of bombs
Noun
  • That’s been the story of this third season, one that started with Rhaenyra storming the castle and taking the Iron Throne and then promptly saw her get picked apart by dozens of unforeseen calamities.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Yoon drew extensively on these themes in his earlier works—most recently in the novel Run Me to Earth and the Story Prize–winning collection The Hive and the Honey—and his oeuvre depicts war’s psychological and material calamities.
    — Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of calamities
Noun
  • The quarterfinal winners will secure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup, while the losers will face off in a final set of matches to determine which two teams advance to FIFA’s intercontinental playoff next year.
    — Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The winners and losers of that sort of shift remain to be seen.
    — Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of losers

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disaster
disasters
disastrous
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Cite this Entry

“Disasters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disasters. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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