catastrophe
Americannoun
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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.
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Geology. a sudden, violent disturbance, especially of a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
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Also called catastrophe function. Mathematics. any of the mathematical functions that describe the discontinuities that are treated in catastrophe theory.
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 called: cataclysm. any sudden and violent change in the earth's surface caused by flooding, earthquake, or some other rapid process
Related Words
See disaster.
Other Word Forms
- catastrophal adjective
- catastrophic adjective
- catastrophical adjective
- catastrophically adverb
- supercatastrophe noun
Etymology
Origin of catastrophe
First recorded in 1570–80; from Greek katastrophḗ “an overturning,” from katastréphein “to overturn”; equivalent to cata- + strophe
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.
Hawaii’s House passed a bill this month amending the definition of gambling to prohibit prediction markets for events related to “catastrophe, contests, death, legislation, national security, people, politics and sports.”
Nearly a month into the Middle East war, Lebanon is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis that now risks teetering over into a catastrophe, the United Nations refugee agency warned Friday.
From Barron's
“If they take out the last bridge and nothing can come in, it’s going to be a catastrophe,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
If films about catastrophe often take a schematic, meet-the-victims approach to their opening scenes, Ms. Littman renders hers with persuasive vibrancy, too full of life to have room for heavy-handed portent.
Vonn did tell Vanity Fair that she’s not crazy about the idea of the catastrophe at the Winter Games being the public’s last impression of her as a skier.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
