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disaster

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

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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: , , , , , , , ,
Obsolete. an unfavorable aspect of a star or planet.

disaster

/ ��ɪˈ��ɑː��ə /

noun

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

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Derived Forms

�徱��ˈ��ٰ��ǳܲ�, adjective

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Other Word Forms

��d��·��t�� noun

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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 á��ٰ��ǲ� )

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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

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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.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

They have been charged with fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits and they each face a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.

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But experts say earthquakes are impossible to predict due to the complexity of the factors involved in such disasters.

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The Small Business Administration has estimated that, in an effort to more quickly distribute relief, it gave out more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent funds through its COVID-19-era disaster loan programs.

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The star of "The Last of Us" lashed out at Rowling's recent celebration of a United Kingdom Supreme Court ruling that could spell disaster for the cause of trans rights.

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Its work directly affects Americans’ daily lives, impacting prices, disaster response and how resources are allocated.

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Related Words

disassortative mating disaster area

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