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catastrophe
[ kuh-tas-truh-fee ]
noun
- a sudden and widespread disaster:
the catastrophe of war.
Synonyms: calamity, misfortune
Antonyms: triumph
- any misfortune, mishap, or failure; fiasco:
The play was so poor our whole evening was a catastrophe.
- a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one; a disastrous end:
the great catastrophe of the Old South at Appomattox.
Antonyms: triumph
- (in a drama) the point at which the circumstances overcome the central motive, introducing the close or conclusion; dénouement. Compare catastasis, epitasis, protasis.
- Geology. a sudden, violent disturbance, especially of a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
- Also called ca·tas·tro·phe func·tion [k, uh, -, tas, -tr, uh, -fee fuhngk-sh, uh, n]. Mathematics. any of the mathematical functions that describe the discontinuities that are treated in catastrophe theory.
catastrophe
/ kəˈtæstrəfɪ; ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk /
noun
- a sudden, extensive, or notable disaster or misfortune
- the denouement of a play, esp a classical tragedy
- a final decisive event, usually causing a disastrous end
- Also calledcataclysm any sudden and violent change in the earth's surface caused by flooding, earthquake, or some other rapid process
Derived Forms
- ˌcataˈstrophically, adverb
- catastrophic, adjective
Other Words From
- cat·a·stroph·ic [kat-, uh, -, strof, -ik], cat·a·stroph·i·cal ca·tas·tro·phal adjective
- su·per·ca·tas·tro·phe noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of catastrophe1
Word History and Origins
Origin of catastrophe1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Both are important, but the focus of this piece is preventing further catastrophe.
Those factors have lead to a surge in trading for catastrophe bonds in the past few days, according to Artemis.
We’ve shown that there are lots of smart, relatively cheap things we can do now to reduce the risk of another catastrophe like this one.
The public health crisis has led to an economic catastrophe.
Once again the federal government is fumbling its response to a catastrophe that disproportionately affects Black people, and once again officials are using stories about looting to place the blame on Black victims of police violence.
The director left then; he could see the impending catastrophe.
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to be the greatest nuclear catastrophe in world history.
In turn, this economic catastrophe subsequently led to the rise of the Nazi party.
But a Western policy that is blind to the urgent need for reform and justice is certain to end in catastrophe.
This is a critical system that leaves you one failure away from catastrophe, as in this case.
To others the fierce desire for social justice obliterates all fear of a general catastrophe.
This may be called the first day of the revolution, although the object of the meeting was to prevent such a catastrophe.
On one hand is the yawning gulf of social catastrophe represented by socialism.
To say that the party looked aghast at this sudden catastrophe, would be to give but a feeble idea of the state of their minds.
The risk of such a catastrophe might perhaps be avoided, if she would consent to leave the stage and live entirely in Russia.
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