Link Centre Dictionary

catastrophe

ca·tast·rophe

US/kəˈtæstɹəfi/ fairly common

noun

1.

an event resulting in great loss and misfortune

  • “the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity”
  • “the earthquake was a disaster”
Synonyms
2.

a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune

  • “lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system”
  • “his policies were a disaster”
Synonyms
3.

a sudden violent change in the earth''s surface

Synonyms

Origin

From Ancient Greek καταστροφή (katastrophḗ), from καταστρέφω (katastréphō, “to overturn”), from κατά (katá, “down, against”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).

Phrases

  • Carter catastrophe
  • cat bond
  • catastrophe bond
  • catastrophe theory
  • climate catastrophe
  • cosy catastrophe
  • cozy catastrophe
  • error catastrophe

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.