catastrophe
Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
Example
“The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophe.”
Other meanings
A disaster beyond expectations.
The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement.
Related words
- catastrophal
- cat bond
- catastrophin
- catastrophize
- ecocatastrophe
- supercatastrophe
- castrophony
- catastrophe bond
- catastrophe theory
- oxygenation catastrophe
- cowtastrophe
- disastrophe
Word history
From Ancient Greek "καταστροφή".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “catastrophe” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.