Meaning & use
catastrophe
Last updated
A sudden and widespread disaster or terrible event causing great damage or suffering.
See it in a sentence
The flood was the worst catastrophe the town had seen in a century.
Losing the client's files right before the deadline felt like a total catastrophe.
A note on using this word
Catastrophe is often used hyperbolically in casual speech for minor mishaps, though its core meaning refers to genuinely large-scale disasters.
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
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