Vocabulary in context
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Catastrophe
A sudden, widespread disaster or misfortune; a complete collapse or breakdown of a system, event, or plan.
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Imagine This
Imagine a coastal city battered by a huge hurricane: homes topple, floods rise, and emergency crews race through rubble as sirens wail—this is a catastrophe.
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Sounds Like
kuh-TAS-truh-fee
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Looks Like
Related visually to the word 'catastrophic'; rooted in the Greek katastrophē (downward turning)
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Remember This
Catastrophe is used for large-scale disasters or total failures. The adjective form is catastrophic; the adverb is catastrophically.
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Other Forms
catastrophesnoun
catastrophicadjective
catastrophicallyadverb
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Connect With
disaster, calamity, crisis, debacle, ruin, collapse
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Note
Reserve catastrophe for major disasters or failures. Do not confuse with 'calamity' (a synonym) or with more minor problems. Distinguish between noun (catastrophe) and adjective/adverb forms (catastrophic, catastrophically).
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Study Deeper
Examples
- The hurricane caused a catastrophe along the coastline, destroying homes and infrastructure.
- A financial catastrophe followed the market crash, wiping out years of savings.
Synonyms
disastercalamitycataclysmdebaclefiasco
Antonyms
successprosperityadvancement
Etymology
From Greek katastrophē meaning 'an overturning, sudden end,' from kata 'down' + strophe 'turning.' The term entered English via Old French catastrophe.
Mnemonic
CATastrophe: CAT + A + STROPE (turn). Picture a cat knocking over a vase and causing a dramatic turn of events—an unmistakable disaster.
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Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Debacle
nounA sudden and complete failure or fiasco; a chaotic collapse of a plan or event
Abasement
nounThe act or instance of humiliating or degrading someone; the state of being lowered in dignity or status.
Absurdity
nounThe quality or state of being wildly unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous; something that is completely contrary to reason or common sense.
Accent
nounA distinctive way of pronouncing words; the act of emphasizing a syllable or word (as a verb, to accent means to emphasize).
Accolade
nounAn honor; a public expression of praise or an award.
Acrimony
nounBitterness of speech or manner; ill feeling
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