catastropheca‧tas‧tro‧phe /kəˈtæstrəfi/ ●○○ noun 
The Black Sea is facing ecological catastrophe as a result of pollution.prevent/avert a catastrophe Sudan requires food immediately to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.2[countable] an event which is very bad for the people involved SYN disastercatastrophe for If the contract is cancelled, it’ll be a catastrophe for everyone concerned.
WORD ORIGINcatastrophe
Origin:
1500-1600 Greek katastrephein ‘to turn upside down’, from kata- ( ➔ CATACLYSM) + strephein ‘to turn’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Most people now accept that global warming could result in an environmental catastrophe.
- Scientists say the oil spill is an ecological catastrophe.
- The blizzard was a catastrophe that affected 17 states, ranging from New Hampshire to Tennessee.
- The economy seems to be moving toward catastrophe.
- The governments of the world failed to act to prevent the catastrophe of World War II.
- The oil spill will be an ecological catastrophe.
- At the simplest level, patriotism lent meaning and purpose to personal catastrophes that would otherwise appear intolerable.
- Of my five fires, it is the only catastrophe instigated by nature.
- Seven different teachers in the course of ten days became the final catastrophe of this classroom.
- Surely this catastrophe couldn't really be happening?
- The drive for cheap food has been behind every food catastrophe of the past decade.
- The prose of this chapter measures the adequacy of verbal accounts of catastrophe in the age of photographic reproduction.
- These will go a long way to lessen the real danger of accidental war or nuclear catastrophe due to misinformation.
- When November came, and the debt ceiling had not moved, Rubin postponed catastrophe by borrowing from two government pension funds.
THESAURUS
a sudden event such as an accident, or a natural event such as a flood or storm, which causes great damage or suffering: · 200 people died in the train disaster.· The earthquake was the worst natural disaster to hit India for over 50 years.
a terrible event in which there is a lot of destruction, damage, suffering, or death over a wide area of the world: · A large comet hitting the Earth would be a catastrophe.· We don’t want another nuclear catastrophe like Chernobyl.· Scientists say that the oil spill is an ecological catastrophe.
a very sad event, that shocks people because it involves death: · It was a tragedy that he died so young.· the AIDS tragedy in Africa
an event or situation that is a complete failure and is very embarrassing: · The opening ceremony turned into a debacle.· The team is hoping to do better this game, after last week’s debacle against the Chicago Bears.
Longman Language Activatora disaster an extremely bad accident or natural event in which a lot of people are killed: · The disaster killed more than 200 people. · The crash on Monday is the latest in a long line of air disasters in West Africa.· The local people are used to coping with disaster.natural disaster (=caused by wind, rain, or other natural forces): · Natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes are common occurrences in California.· The governor said the earthquake was the worst natural disaster to hit India for over 50 years.disaster area: · The Los Alamos area was officially declared a disaster area after the forest fires there in May.
a terrible event that causes a lot of deaths, damage, and destruction over a wide area: · The blizzard was a catastrophe that affected 17 states, ranging from New Hampshire to Tennessee.environmental/ecological/nuclear etc catastrophe: · Scientists say the oil spill is an ecological catastrophe.· Most people now accept that global warming could result in an environmental catastrophe.
a terrible and very sad event or situation, usually resulting in suffering or death: · Investigators still do not know what caused the tragedy, which killed all 278 people on board.· the worst tragedy in the history of space flight· Unless the world deals with the AIDS threat now, the African continent could suffer "a tragedy of historic proportions".
a terrible and unexpected event that causes great damage and loss: · Hurricane George was just the latest calamity to hit the state.· The flood was a calamity from which Bangladesh has never fully recovered.· Singh told reporters that he had not seen such human suffering in any previous natural calamity.
causing a lot of destruction or suffering · A disastrous fire destroyed much of the city in the early 1900s.· Much of the damage wrought by the disastrous three-day storm was still apparent.disastrous consequences · There was a fault in the engine design, which had disastrous consequences.
causing terrible destruction and suffering and many deaths, over a wide area: · The flooding was catastrophic, killing hundreds of people and leaving thousands homeless.· The destruction of the world's rain forests could have a catastrophic influence on the earth's climate.
causing great suffering and sadness: · The President referred to Friday's air disaster as a "tragic loss of life".
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The Black Sea is facing ecological catastrophe as a result of pollution. Sudan requires food immediately to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
1[countable, uncountable] a terrible event in which there is a lot of destruction, suffering, or death SYN disasterenvironmental/nuclear/economic etc catastrophe The Black Sea is facing ecological catastrophe as a result of pollution. Sudan requires food immediately to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.· Environmental protection Overpopulation in the Majority World has often been blamed for ecological catastrophe.· If they do this, ecological catastrophe is inevitable.
· For 24 hours the country appeared headed for political and economic catastrophe, with two Chambers about to be sworn in.· The republics were poor, in a state of virtual economic catastrophe.
· They act as a complement to his large works which are responses to a progressive environmental catastrophe.
· Most countries of the world have their records of great natural catastrophes which changed the local face of the earth.· The effects of conquest were followed by the still greater catastrophes of exploitation and forced labour.
· Contaminants combined with inappropriate wound care can convert a simple wound to a major catastrophe.· Short of causing a major catastrophe, a mistake will not cost him his job.
· There are many who have suffered personal disaster and whose livelihoods have been destroyed by natural catastrophe or invasion.· We respected driving as others regarded natural catastrophes.· Even the imagery they use is that of natural catastrophe.· She just wanted some huge natural catastrophe to sweep through the bedroom and miraculously carry her two hundred thousand miles away.· Surely science must be close to forecasting such natural catastrophes?· Most countries of the world have their records of great natural catastrophes which changed the local face of the earth.
· I say nuclear catastrophe partly because any exchange of nuclear arsenals will bear no resemblance to anything that could be called war.· These will go a long way to lessen the real danger of accidental war or nuclear catastrophe due to misinformation.· Each side claims that its estimate of the chances of nuclear catastrophe is more accurate.· It was not, somehow, the air of a man contemplating nuclear catastrophe, but a more pleasant dream.
VERB· Computer system users can not control risk management decisions, but suffer big losses when inadequate protection fails to avert catastrophe.· What averted catastrophe was the introduction of widespread electronic communications, especially for education and entertainment.· We are the last generation who can avert this catastrophe.· Are there no other ways of intervening in their environment to avert the catastrophe Walinsky describes?
· That is 80m times the power of the Hiroshima bomb-enough to cause a global catastrophe.· Short of causing a major catastrophe, a mistake will not cost him his job.
· But they also knew there was a remote chance that their efforts might help to prevent catastrophe.
The Black Sea is facing ecological catastrophe as a result of pollution.prevent/avert a catastrophe Sudan requires food immediately to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.2[countable] an event which is very bad for the people involved SYN disastercatastrophe for If the contract is cancelled, it’ll be a catastrophe for everyone concerned.