1
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
more than one natural catastrophe has threatened to destroy their farm over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failure
something that has failed
the movie was a catastrophe, nearly bankrupting the studio that produced it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophe
Noun
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Similarly, the market-resilience work performed by a lab at the University of California, Davis, offers solutions to farmers and agricultural communities that are vulnerable to intensifying weather disasters.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025 -
Federal database that tracked costly weather disasters no longer being updated How to prepare for an earthquake disaster Huge earthquakes have long been an existential crisis for millions along the West Coast, as described in a 2022 USA TODAY article.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
8 June 2025
Noun
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His failure to stop the Ukraine-Russia conflict stands as a stark overreach of his promise to end it on Day One.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
6 June 2025
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While human error is the leading cause of data loss, other causes include hardware failure, theft, software corruption, viruses, natural disasters and power failure.—
Chongwei Chen,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Noun
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As bad luck would have it, when Panahi’s film screened to critics this writer was trapped on an airplane as a minor apocalypse descended upon Nice airport.—
Thomas Page,
CNN Money,
24 May 2025
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And is vanilla cake easier in the zombie apocalypse because extract has a longer shelf life than cocoa powder?—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 May 2025
Noun
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The narrative moves between Joan’s ascent through the ranks, including a love story as explosive as a rocket launch, and a mid-decade disaster reminiscent of the Challenger tragedy.—
Bethanne Patrick,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2025
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Saar says the phrase refers to those seeking to export violence beyond the Middle East to places like America, making the D.C. shooting much more than a local tragedy.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2025
Noun
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Meantime Marty and his ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan), on good terms, commiserate by phone about the latest roster of calamities.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2025
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All these calamities are happening simultaneously — so many disasters coming at such speed that the bad news slams into Marty like a psychological avalanche.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Catastrophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophe. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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