disaster
Pluraldisasters
- 1An unexpected large-scale catastrophe, natural or human-made, that causes heavy damage or destruction, loss of life, or sometimes lasting harm to the environment.
The oil spill became one of the worst environmental disasters in the region's history.
Emergency crews struggled to reach survivors in the days following the disaster.
Similarcatastrophe, calamity, cataclysm, tragedy
Note
Behind the word is a star gone wrong. Middle French desastre came from Italian disastro, built from dis- and astro, "star", so a disaster was first an ill-starred event. In this large-scale sense it works both as a count noun (environmental disasters) and as a mass noun, as when The Economist in 2013 wrote that floods had "wrought disaster on an enormous scale."
- 2An event that comes without warning and brings serious loss, distress, or trouble of any kind.
The product launch was a disaster, costing the company millions.
Her first attempt at baking a wedding cake ended in disaster.
Similarfiasco, debacle, failure, catastrophe, flop
Note
Here the word comes down to human scale, where the loss can be a death in the family or merely a failed cake. Georgette Heyer's The Unknown Ajax (1959) uses it for a family bereavement. The Devil Wears Prada (2003) shrinks it to a one-word verdict signaled by pursed lips. Used bare like that, disaster becomes an exclamation of judgment, far lighter than the large-scale catastrophe.
- 3A skateboard trick using a 180-degree ollie, landing centered on the board with the front trucks toward the ramp and the back trucks over the lip, then leaning forward to return.
The skater pulled off a smooth disaster at the top of the halfpipe.
Landing a disaster takes precise timing as the board balances on the lip.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of disaster apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From Middle French 'desastre', from Italian 'disastro', formed from 'dis-' plus 'astro' ('star'). This traces back through Latin 'astrum' and Ancient Greek 'ástron' ('star') to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂stḗr.