catastrophe

ca-tas-tro-phe · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    An event causing great damage, suffering, or destruction.

  2. 2.

    A complete failure; a fiasco.

  3. 3.

    (drama) The final event of a tragedy, in which the protagonist meets their fate.

Forms

plural: catastrophes

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    avert catastrophe — to prevent disaster
  • •
    narrowly avoid catastrophe — to barely escape disaster
  • •
    recipe for catastrophe — a situation likely to end badly

Related words

Antonyms: blessing, success, triumph
See also: calamity, catastrophic, disaster, tragedy
Synonyms: calamity, cataclysm, debacle, disaster, tragedy

Etymology

From Greek katastrophe ("an overturning, sudden end"), from kata- ("down") and strephein ("to turn"). Originally a dramatic term for the final turning point of a tragedy.