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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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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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 Modern networks are more resilient in disasters, an AT&T spokesman said, because they can be restored faster and are less vulnerable to damage and copper theft. — Jenny Jarvie follow, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026 Years of red tape and outdated regulations have limited new construction, and left housing in complex environments like Florida vulnerable to natural and economic disasters. — Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026 The market needs to know how investors and companies are preparing for these challenges, acting on them, and supporting the transition to a cleaner, more resilient energy economy to avoid worsening disasters. — Mindy Lubber, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 In a statement, an AT&T spokesperson said modern alternatives to copper hold up better during disasters and said landline service wouldn’t be discontinued until at least June 1, 2027. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026 Unlike sudden disasters that arrive with little warning, El Niño develops over months and can be monitored well in advance. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 7 July 2026 Cheap financial capital has flooded into the industry, lowering the cost of protecting against disasters, but Bäte thinks the trend cannot continue forever. — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 3 July 2026 City leaders recognize the difficulty for families and communities dealing with vacant disasters. — Bryant Reed, CBS News, 2 July 2026 All three died in the storm that claimed eight lives across multiple expeditions in what was one of Everest's deadliest disasters at the time. — ABC News, 2 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disasters

Noun

Prominent voices fear that the end result of the transformative technology is a job bloodbath and national security catastrophes, while others believe a new era of productivity is ready to be unlocked, with society living longer and healthier lives.

— Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 July 2026
Healthcare registers the effects of climate catastrophes, ecosystem failures and food shortages that also fuel political and social crises.

— Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Definition of catastrophes

Noun

According to Castillo, one of the most significant failures has been the tendency to treat many squatter complaints as civil disputes rather than criminal investigations.

— Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
Spence also appears to be absorbing the blame for broader failures, with Thomas Tuchel’s touchline frustrations obvious and — for a player still establishing himself at this level — that scrutiny is unlikely to help.

— Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 4 July 2026

Definition of failures

Noun

Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope, said that the shootings in Compton were tragedies that could have been prevented and that there were questions about whether the city and the Sheriff’s Department could have done more to keep people safe.

— Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Deadly boating tragedies are common in the central African country, where late-night travels and overcrowded vessels are often blamed.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026

Definition of tragedies

Noun

The history of media deals is littered with mistakes and disappointments from AOL Time Warner through AT&T/Warner Media through Disney’s overpayment for Fox.

— Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
For Raghozar, the rejections and disappointments altered her mentality and motivation entirely.

— Kayla Lee, Mercury News, 7 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

Public anger was more raw as the country grappled with a largely unchecked hail of bombs from the sky.

— Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
This transition allowed the agency to skip long setup periods and begin assembling the newer, higher-yield bombs immediately.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026

Definition of bombs

Noun

There have been few comments about improvements or calamities, other than the usual notes that battery life was reduced immediately after installation, which is commonplace.

— David Phelan, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
To grade the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their relative natural disaster risks, five measures were developed that account for the frequency and damage of calamities, weighted against population and geographic size.

— Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 21 June 2026

Definition of calamities

Noun

Anthropic has already launched products for law firms and design firms; the primary losers there are software companies that hawk those services, like Harvey (law) and Figma (design).

— Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 July 2026
The blue team needs to claw back some self-respect and reassure voters that they aren’t being asked to back a bunch of losers.

— Michelle Cottle, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

Definition of losers

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“Disasters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disasters. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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