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 Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said Southern California has been rocked by numerous chemical disasters, including the Lineage warehouse fire and the Garden Grove hazardous materials emergency. — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026 Kimmel had been tapped to serve as master of ceremonies at the fundraiser for the home-sharing behemoth’s nonprofit, which was created in 2020 to provide free temporary housing to people displaced by disasters and other crises. — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 29 Oct. 2026 The affordable housing crisis — which critics say is exacerbated by Airbnb — means less housing is available for people displaced by disasters. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 Many questions remain about the failures that led to one of Spain’s worst transportation disasters in decades and whether something could have been done to prevent it. — Hernan Muñoz, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026 Its songs are littered with black holes, disasters, nuclear bombs; there are guttural screams and onslaughts of distorted guitar. — Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026 Ecosystems like wetlands, rivers and lakes play an important role in protecting biodiversity and protecting communities from disasters like floods, making conservation powerful for both nature and people. — Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2026 Since 2024, the state and federal governments have spent over half a billion dollars on disasters in Ruidoso — nine times the village’s annual budget. — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026 These same companies continue to kill the clean energy that is not only cheaper, but try to side-step their glaring responsibility for the increasing cascade of climate disasters. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disasters

Noun

With that in mind, here’s a look at three new books shaped by catastrophes large and small.

— Lisa Henricksson, Air Mail, 17 Oct. 2026
This palette also has a latch tab that locks the lid in place, avoiding any potential catastrophes.

— ElleAnna Revell, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of catastrophes

Noun

Many franchises were jumping from 2D to 3D at the turn of the millennium, and there were plenty of failures — but Metroid wasn’t one of them.

— Daryl Baxter, Space.com, 1 Nov. 2026
Accessibility failures thrive in the dark, where no one has to explain how decisions are made, why capacity isn’t anticipated accurately, or what accessibility actually looks like when thousands of disabled people often have to navigate barriers.

— Maribeth Romslo, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of failures

Noun

By century’s end, however, the specter of famine had largely receded (aside from tragedies of war and misgovernment, no small caveat).

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Investigators are still working to determine how Boahene was dragged by the train and ways to prevent similar tragedies.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of tragedies

Noun

Indeed, and most embarrassingly, might my interest in preaching be little more than an attempt to assuage my writing disappointments?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
The Barbie show, however, was not without its disappointments for some Péro fans, since the collaboration felt somewhat removed from the label’s familiar world.

— Mayu Saini, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of disappointments

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

If the Greens and the Communists are lobbing bombs at the two major political parties from the extreme left, Libertarians are on the opposite side of the fight--lobbing bombs from the extreme right.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026
Its songs are littered with black holes, disasters, nuclear bombs; there are guttural screams and onslaughts of distorted guitar.

— Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 28 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

How could anyone in the military support a repulsive, draft-dodging coward who called dead soldiers suckers and losers?

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 30 Oct. 2026
The Cubs’ reputation as lovable losers was well-earned after 37 years without a National League pennant and 74 years removed from their last World Series title.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of losers

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“Disasters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disasters. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of disasters

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