catastrophe

Meaning

1. (countable, uncountable) Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
2. (countable, uncountable) A disaster beyond expectations.
3. (countable, uncountable) The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement.
4. (countable, uncountable) A type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states.

Synonyms

disaster

calamity

cataclysm

accident

ruin

destruction

disasater

tragedy

mistake

misfortune

crash

devastation

debacle

smashup

misery

failure

mischance

misfortunes

mishap

mishaps

natural disaster

phrase

plague

rack

rainy day

ravage

suffering

tacking

tempest

tribulation

tumult

turn

turning

undoing

veering

woe

worst

wreckage

early death

casus

drama

great danger

critical stage

violent outburst

catastrophic event

idiomatical expression

wheeling round

annihilation

apocalypse

assassination

Translations

Katastrophe

catastrophe

catástrofe

catastrofe

désastre

catàstrofe

ramp

catastrofe

καταστροφή

catástrofe

onheil

afet

catastropha

debâcle

ondergang

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kəˈtæstɹəfi/

Etymology

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