A disaster is a very bad accident such as an earthquake or a plane crash, especially one in which a lot of people are killed.
It was the second air disaster in the region in less than two months.
Many had lost all in the disaster and were destitute.
Synonyms: catastrophe, trouble, blow, accident More Synonyms of disaster
2. countable noun
If you refer to something as a disaster, you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable.
[emphasis]
The whole production was just a disaster!
It would be a disaster for them not to reach the semi-finals.
'This tax is a disaster waiting to happen,' said an angry Tory backbencher.
Synonyms: failure, mess, flop [informal], catastrophe More Synonyms of disaster
3. uncountable noun
Disaster is something which has very bad consequences for you.
The government brought itself to the brink of fiscal disaster.
'The potential for disaster is enormous,' he says.
4.
See a recipe for disaster
disaster in British English
(dɪˈzɑːstə)
noun
1.
an occurrence that causes great distress or destruction
2.
a thing, project, etc, that fails or has been ruined
Derived forms
disastrous (disˈastrous)
adjective
Word origin
C16 (originally in the sense: malevolent astral influence): from Italian disastro, from dis- (pejorative) + astro star, from Latin astrum, from Greek astron
disaster in American English
(dɪˈzæstər; dɪˈzɑstər; also dɪsˈæstər; dɪsˈɑstər)
noun
any happening that causes great harm or damage; serious or sudden misfortune; calamity
SYNONYMY NOTE: disaster implies great or sudden misfortune that results in loss of life, property, etc. orthat is ruinous to an undertaking; , calamity suggests a grave misfortune that brings deep distress or sorrow to an individualor to the people at large; , catastrophe is specifically applied to a disastrous end or outcome; , cataclysm suggests a great upheaval, esp. a political or social one, that causes sudden andviolent change with attending distress, suffering, etc.
Word origin
OFr desastre < It disastro < L dis- + astrum < Gr astron (see astral), star: from astrological notions: cf. ill-starred
COBUILD Collocations
disaster
absolute disaster
complete disaster
ecological disaster
environmental disaster
fashion disaster
financial disaster
nuclear disaster
potential disaster
total disaster
Examples of 'disaster' in a sentence
disaster
One or two have been skirting with financial disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Then the news blew it up as this great disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Premiership Rugby has to ensure that its clubs are on a sound enough financial footing to survive a financial disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It may be that the regulations introduced since the 1980s are all that stands between us and environmental and financial disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
For both teams, the challenge is an unqualified disaster - just the way we like it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Not that being unfashionable again will be any great disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Not many people are capable of literally treating triumph and disaster just the same.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The same images were a disaster for the government.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The narrative is a mixture of bad trip and low budget disaster movie.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
It has carried out two such operations after air disasters.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You see these things in disaster movies but not real life.
The Sun (2011)
This is a potential disaster area for women.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This would be a financial disaster for any big club.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
This is a disaster waiting to happen.
The Sun (2010)
There was no mention of or sensitivity to the earthquake or disaster conditions.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Humanity tends to catch up with its crises and disasters just in time.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Aid agencies warned of a humanitarian disaster as government refugee camps were swamped.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This whole thing is a disaster for the charity sector.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The potential for disaster far outweighs the benefits.
Christianity Today (2000)
That would be a reputational and financial disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They have been brought in from up and down the eastern seaboard as if for the climax of a disaster movie.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It was a great opera disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Its residents topped a league of natural disasters, accidents and crime.
The Sun (2009)
She was the face of the fundraising appeal for the earthquake disaster in Nepal.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Great failures, great disasters drive great successes.
David Boyle AUTHENTICITY: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life (2003)
This is not a disaster, just a scandal.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Then the sheer glut of shows about disasters, crashes and accidents led to viewer fatigue, and they disappeared en masse.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In other languages
disaster
British English: disaster /dɪˈzɑːstə/ NOUN
A disaster is a very bad accident such as an earthquake or a plane crash.
It was the second air disaster in the region.
American English: disaster
Arabic: كارِثَة
Brazilian Portuguese: desastre
Chinese: 灾难
Croatian: katastrofa
Czech: pohroma
Danish: katastrofe
Dutch: ramp
European Spanish: desastre
Finnish: katastrofi
French: désastre
German: Katastrophe
Greek: καταστροφή
Italian: disastro
Japanese: 災害
Korean: 재난
Norwegian: katastrofe
Polish: katastrofa
European Portuguese: desastre
Romanian: dezastru
Russian: бедствие
Latin American Spanish: desastre
Swedish: katastrof
Thai: ความหายนะ
Turkish: felaket
Ukrainian: катастрофа
Vietnamese: thảm họa
All related terms of 'disaster'
air disaster
a very serious air crash in which in a lot of people are killed or injured
disaster area
A disaster area is a part of a country or the world which has been very seriously affected by a disaster such as an earthquake or a flood .
disaster fund
a fund set up to relieve people or countries afflicted by a disaster
disaster zone
an area or region hit by a disaster
disaster movie
a film in which a disastrous event such as an earthquake , fire , air crash etc is the focus of the action
disaster relief
financial or physical help provided to people or areas hit by a disaster
total disaster
If you refer to something as a disaster , you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable .
absolute disaster
If you refer to something as a disaster , you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable .
complete disaster
If you refer to something as a disaster , you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable .
fashion disaster
If you refer to something as a disaster , you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable .
financial disaster
If you refer to something as a disaster , you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable .
natural disaster
a natural event which causes a lot of damage and kills a lot of people
nuclear disaster
A disaster is a very bad accident such as an earthquake or a plane crash , especially one in which a lot of people are killed.
potential disaster
If you refer to something as a disaster , you are emphasizing that you think it is extremely bad or unacceptable .
disaster capitalism
the practice (by a government, regime , etc) of taking advantage of a major disaster to adopt neoliberal economic policies that the population would be less likely to accept under normal circumstances
ecological disaster
A disaster is a very bad accident such as an earthquake or a plane crash , especially one in which a lot of people are killed.
environmental disaster
A disaster is a very bad accident such as an earthquake or a plane crash , especially one in which a lot of people are killed.
a recipe for disaster
If you say that something is a recipe for disaster , you mean that it is very likely to have unpleasant consequences .