disaster

The word “disaster” means a sudden event, natural or man-made, that causes serious damage, loss of life, or destruction. In plain terms, a very bad event — from a real catastrophe like an earthquake to a plan or evening that simply goes horribly wrong.

“Disaster” is pronounced dih-ZAHS-tuh (/dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ in IPA).

Here is “disaster” used in a sentence: “The earthquake was the worst natural disaster in the country's history.”

Words with a similar meaning to “disaster” include adversity, apocalypse, calamity, catastrophe, misery and qualm.

“Disaster” is a noun.

The word “disaster” comes from Latin. From Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro — literally "ill-starred," from dis- ("bad") + astro ("star"), from Latin astrum.

“Disaster” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Disaster” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a sudden event, natural or man-made, that causes serious damage, loss of life, or destruction.

Both words describe events causing serious damage or destruction, but catastrophe generally suggests a larger scale or more final, sweeping ruin. Disaster is the more common, everyday word and is also used lightly for anything that turns out very badly, as in the dinner party was a disaster.

A natural disaster is a sudden natural event that causes serious damage, loss of life, or destruction. Common examples include earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions, as opposed to man-made disasters such as industrial accidents.

Disaster emphasises the destructive event itself, whether natural or man-made, and the damage it causes. Tragedy emphasises human suffering and grief, so an event involving loss of life may be called both a disaster and a tragedy, while a failed business launch is only a disaster.