Greek katastrophē, from katastrephein to overturn, from kata- + strephein to turn, Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP. Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox! An independent Scotland would be a catastrophe as a country. Delivered to your inbox! The world is heading towards an environmental catastrophe. What made you want to look up catastrophe? The Secret Histories of 'Catastrophe',... “Catastrophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catastrophe. What Is The Difference Between “It’s” And “Its”? (in a drama) the point at which the circumstances overcome the central motive, introducing the close or conclusion; dénouement. Can Anyone Make Space Safe for Civilians? an anxiety disorder in which patients are driven to repeat the same act, such as washing their hands, over and over again, usually for many hours. How to use a word that (literally) drives some pe... Name that government! Since the catastrophe on board the steamer, he had forgotten Doctor Glyphic. Dictionary.com Unabridged Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). “Epidemic” vs. “Pandemic” vs. “Endemic”: What Do These Terms Mean? Insurers are getting nervous as Hurricane Laura is set to make landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm, To prevent the next pandemic, we might need to cut down fewer trees, A Message to Our Readers on Newsroom Diversity, Why’s Al Qaeda So Strong? Finally, it came to be applied to things that are only figuratively catastrophic - burnt dinners, lost luggage, really bad movies, etc. (kə-tăs′trə-fē) n. 1. How To Determine Subject vs. Predicate In A Sentence. By the early 1600s, "catastrophe" was being used more generally of any generally unhappy conclusion or disastrous or ruinous end. Why Do “Left” And “Right” Mean Liberal And Conservative? Up to a Point: A Free Scotland Would Be a Hilarious Disaster, MH17 Black Box ‘Sent to Moscow for Investigation’, Why the Caliphate Will Devour Its Children. Learn a new word every day. It is safe to say that anyone who has once gone through such a catastrophe will have no desire to repeat it. Absentee Ballot vs. Mail-In Ballot: Is There A Difference? any of the mathematical functions that describe the discontinuities that are treated in, a sudden, extensive, or notable disaster or misfortune, the denouement of a play, esp a classical tragedy, a final decisive event, usually causing a disastrous end, any sudden and violent change in the earth's surface caused by flooding, earthquake, or some other rapid process. Accessed 14 Oct. 2020. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'catastrophe.' 2. a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one; a disastrous end:the great catastrophe of the Old South at Appomattox. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. 3 a : a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth. The concluding action of a drama, especially a classical tragedy, following the climax and containing a resolution of the plot. See the full definition for catastrophe in the English Language Learners Dictionary, Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for catastrophe, Nglish: Translation of catastrophe for Spanish Speakers, Britannica English: Translation of catastrophe for Arabic Speakers, Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about catastrophe. I had never experienced the like before, and I felt sure some catastrophe would happen. This is a critical system that leaves you one failure away from catastrophe, as in this case. We’ve shown that there are lots of smart, relatively cheap things we can do now to reduce the risk of another catastrophe like this one. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Get ready to roister about a perfect score on the words from October 5–11, 2020! 10 Types Of Nouns Used In The English Language. phe. We Asked, You Answered. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Describe 2020 In Just One Word? A complete failure; a fiasco: The food was cold, the guests quarreled—the whole dinner was a catastrophe. 2 : utter failure : fiasco the party was a catastrophe. Both are important, but the focus of this piece is preventing further catastrophe. When English speakers first borrowed the Greek word catastrophe in the 1500s, they used it for the conclusion or final event of a dramatic work, especially of a tragedy. a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one; a disastrous end: the great catastrophe of the Old South at Appomattox. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Once again the federal government is fumbling its response to a catastrophe that disproportionately affects Black people, and once again officials are using stories about looting to place the blame on Black victims of police violence. But a Western policy that is blind to the urgent need for reform and justice is certain to end in catastrophe.

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