DISASTERS Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

disasters

noun

plural of disaster

as in catastrophes

a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction hurricanes are natural disasters

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in failures

something that has failed an utter disaster, the play opened and closed on the same miserable night

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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 Its chief instructor, Wang Kuanghan, has said plans are underway to open five more centers in China within three years, expanding the simulations to other disasters, including fires and earthquakes. — Lauryn Higgins, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 The administration initially talked about abolishing the agency, arguing that states and communities could deal with disasters on their own. — Dana R. Fisher, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 Early research suggests that smoke from these disasters can blow onto trees across the country and coat leaves, blocking sunlight and interfering with photosynthesis. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026 Coffee spills, muddy shoes, pet mishaps, and everyday messes don’t have to turn into decorating disasters. — Ethan Stone october 9, Idaho Statesman, 9 Oct. 2026 Rosatom says this inherent design prevents severe disasters, removing any need to evacuate local communities during an accident. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026 The war created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters and killed more than 150,000 people. — Ahmed Al-Haj, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026 The war killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 But some leading scientists caution that governments are moving too quickly in an era of space exploration that has seen some notable disasters. — Selam Gebrekidan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disasters

Noun

Fee’s attempt to serve as savior will only trigger further catastrophes.

— Garth Greenwell, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
An institution built explicitly to neutralize biological catastrophes is now at the center of one.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of catastrophes

Noun

The question confronting Israel and its international partners is not simply whether money should flow into Gaza, but also who controls it—and whether the next arrangement will avoid the failures of the last.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
The author argued that the unrest reflected deeper failures by France’s political establishment.

— Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of failures

Noun

At the concert, Mastodon also appeared as a band pushing past the tragedies, and was re-energized and refocused with a new lineup.

— Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
At the time, a bill to ban carriages was before the City Council, but these tragedies bolstered its political momentum.

— Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of tragedies

Noun

There’s a lot of apocalypses happening now in this world, major ones.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
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

The suspect is said to have organized and carried out the detonation of at least four bombs between around 31 to 62 pounds at a depth of 230 feet to 263 feet near the Danish island of Bornholm.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Zelensky does not appear to be in a rush to hold elections and the public has shown little enthusiasm for heading to the polls as bombs fly overhead.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of bombs

Noun

The protagonist becomes a wise-guy version of Benjamin’s Angel of History, watching calamities accumulate before his eyes.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
To avert future calamities, the forest outside Bordeaux must be thinned and its fire breaks widened, said Arthur Guérin-Turcq, a Sorbonne University geographer whose family cultivates pines near Le Porge.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of calamities

Noun

Ryan O'Reilly and Steven Stamkos scored, and Juuse Saros made 30 saves for Nashville, losers of three straight.

— CBS News, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
The selling in recent days, however, has intensified on worries about the AI trade, making the likes of Micron among our biggest losers week-to-date and defensives such as Cardinal Health among our biggest weekly winners.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of losers

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disaster

disasters

disastrous

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“Disasters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disasters. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of disasters

noun

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