disaster

noun

di-ˈza-stər How to pronounce disaster (audio)
Definition of disasternext
1
as in catastrophe
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction hurricanes are natural disasters

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failure
something that has failed an utter disaster, the play opened and closed on the same miserable night

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disaster Awash in 10-foot-high floodwaters, this area became the disaster’s unwitting poster child, its destruction still strewn about 21 years later. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026 These same companies continue to kill the clean energy that is not only cheaper, but try to side-step their glaring responsibility for the increasing cascade of climate disasters. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026 The diamond piece, named for the country, was chosen to honor the victims of the Aberfan disaster on its 60th anniversary. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026 Roughly 5 million of these homes are in areas prone to the worst effects of climate disasters, according to a study Rumbach co-authored. — Daniel Wolfe, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disaster
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disaster
  1. catastrophe
  2. failure
  3. tragedy
  4. disappointment
  5. apocalypse
  6. bust
  7. calamity
Noun
  • Without an authoritative accounting, Eisenkot argues, the country cannot fully reckon with the catastrophe.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Retreating Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait creating an environmental catastrophe felt throughout the Gulf.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of catastrophe
Noun
  • Even if Theranos had a functioning testing machine, the economic model on which is was based would result in failure.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Even among voters who want Republicans to retain control, 17% cited weak AI and data center oversight — second only to a failure to bring down prices.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • The tragedy is the deadliest among those that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the border from Mexico.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Those deaths, those tragedies, unimaginable losses, became my win.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of tragedy
Noun
  • Charli expressed her disappointment over the cancelation and promised to return to Arizona in the future.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Advertising may not be broken, but also made for a disappointment.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of disappointment
Noun
  • The bell, sans artist, continues to mark the passage of time, ringing every hour over the pavilion and its guests, a grotesque altar to the ongoing Venetian apocalypse.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Kayla Cottingham’s This Delicious Death is a fresh, fun, sapphic entry into the zombie apocalypse catalog.
    — Rebekah Faubion, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of apocalypse
Noun
  • Below the bust, the dress boasted a pale corset-style midriff with triangular cutouts that wrapped around to the back of the design.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 23 Oct. 2026
  • That circumspection is the result of some hard lessons from a century of booms and busts.
    — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of bust
Noun
  • In Eatontown, Daunt got out of the car in a strip mall, to contemplate a mild calamity.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Further calamity struck in June 2023 when floodwaters inundated the city after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed from an explosion that an Associated Press investigation found was likely caused by the Russian military, killing hundreds of residents.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of calamity

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disassociating
disaster
disasters
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Cite this Entry

“Disaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disaster. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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