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Definition of Catastrophe
1. Noun. An event resulting in great loss and misfortune. "The earthquake was a disaster"
Generic synonyms: Bad Luck, Misfortune
Specialized synonyms: Act Of God, Force Majeure, Inevitable Accident, Unavoidable Casualty, Vis Major, Apocalypse, Famine, Kiss Of Death, Meltdown, Plague, Visitation, Tidal Wave, Tsunami
Derivative terms: Calamitous, Cataclysmal, Cataclysmic, Disastrous, Tragic, Tragical
2. Noun. A state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune. "His policies were a disaster"
3. Noun. A sudden violent change in the earth's surface.
Generic synonyms: Geological Phenomenon
Specialized synonyms: Nuclear Winter
Definition of Catastrophe
1. n. An event producing a subversion of the order or system of things; a final event, usually of a calamitous or disastrous nature; hence, sudden calamity; great misfortune.
Definition of Catastrophe
1. Noun. Any large and disastrous event of great significance. ¹
2. Noun. (context: insurance) A disaster beyond expectations ¹
3. Noun. (narratology) The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot in a tragedy. ¹
4. Noun. (mathematics) A type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states. ¹
5. Noun. (rare) (alternative spelling of (catastrophe)) ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Catastrophe
1. [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Catastrophe
Literary usage of Catastrophe
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Proceedings by Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), Norton Shaw, Francis Galton, William Spottiswoode, Clements Robert Markham, Henry Walter Bates, John Scott Keltie (1892)
"Tlie Glacial catastrophe in Savoy. MOUNTAIN regions aro subject to many sorts of
sudden disasters, but the terrible catastrophe in the Haute Savoie, ..."
2. The Cambridge Modern History by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton Acton, Ernest Alfred Benians, Sir Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero (1905)
"catastrophe, almost inevitable, therefore loomed ahead when on July 29, 1588,
... with regard to the effects of the catastrophe upon Spaniards generally. ..."
Other Resources:
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