disaster

[ dih-zas-ter, -zah-ster ]

noun

1. a calamitous event, especially one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood, airplane crash, or business failure.

   Synonyms: affliction, adversity, reverse, blow, accident, mishap, misadventure, misfortune, mischance

2. Obsolete. an unfavorable aspect of a star or planet.

disaster

/ dɪˈzɑːstə /

noun

1. an occurrence that causes great distress or destruction
2. a thing, project, etc, that fails or has been ruined

Derived Forms

• disˈastrous, adjective

Other Words From

• predis·aster noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of disaster¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro, from dis- dis- ¹ + astro “star” (from Latin astrum, from Greek ástron )

Word History and Origins

Origin of disaster¹

C16 (originally in the sense: malevolent astral influence): from Italian disastro, from dis- (pejorative) + astro star, from Latin astrum, from Greek astron

Synonym Study

Disaster, calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm refer to adverse happenings often occurring suddenly and unexpectedly. A disaster may be caused by carelessness, negligence, bad judgment, or the like, or by natural forces, as a hurricane or flood: a railroad disaster. Calamity suggests great affliction, either personal or general; the emphasis is on the grief or sorrow caused: the calamity of losing a child. Catastrophe refers especially to the tragic outcome of a personal or public situation; the emphasis is on the destruction or irreplaceable loss: the catastrophe of a defeat in battle. Cataclysm, physically an earth-shaking change, refers to a personal or public upheaval of unparalleled violence: a cataclysm that turned his life in a new direction.

Example Sentences

Department of Agriculture operates natural disaster relief programs for eligible farmers that aim to help repair damage to farmlands, provide financial assistance or offer emergency loans, depending on their situation.

From Los Angeles Times

Hurricanes, or tropical cyclones, can be devastating natural disasters, leveling entire cities and claiming hundreds or thousands of lives.

From Science Daily

And, if the aftermath of past humanitarian disasters has taught us anything, sending all of the funds to any one central actor would be a grave mistake.

From Salon

They’ll also risk providing cover for Republicans to escape blame for the disasters they create.

From Salon

Because farming is uncertain and one bad frost can spell disaster for the season's crops, two-thirds of the women in the study also work full time outside the home.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• calamity
• catastrophe
• collapse
• crash
• debacle
• defeat
• emergency
• failure
• fiasco
• flood
• harm
• hazard
• holocaust
• mishap
• setback
• tragedy
• woe