noun
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a disaster or misfortune, esp one causing extreme havoc, distress, or misery
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a state or feeling of deep distress or misery
Related Words
See disaster.
Etymology
Origin of calamity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English calamite, from Middle French, from Latin calamitāt-, stem of calamitās (also kadamitas ) “crop failure, disaster,” of disputed origin; often considered to be derived from calam(us) “cane, reed” + -itās -ity ( def. ), but perhaps instead akin to columus “safe,” incolumitās “safety”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was the beginning of an utter calamity out of touch for Ewan Ashman, in particular, and his successor, George Turner.
From BBC
As Mr. Coyle relates, one key to the miners’ survival and sanity seems to have been that, when the calamity engulfed them, no one took charge.
In the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge until these calamities shall be overcome.
From Literature
“We need a greater collective sense of these ongoing calamities as the new normal,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times
But the 2001-02 crash proved GMO magnificently right, and people and money reversed course back to the formerly shunned Boston calamity howlers.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
