disaster

dis·as·ter

D0251900 (dĭ-zăs′tər, -săs′-)n.1. a. An occurrence causing widespread destruction and distress; a catastrophe.b. A grave misfortune.2. Informal A total failure: The dinner party was a disaster.3. Obsolete An evil influence of a star or planet.

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[French désastre, from Italian disastro : dis-, pejorative pref. (from Latin dis-; see dis-) + astro, star (from Latin astrum, from Greek astron; see ster- in Indo-European roots).]

disaster

(dɪˈzɑːstə) n1. an occurrence that causes great distress or destruction2. a thing, project, etc, that fails or has been ruined[C16 (originally in the sense: malevolent astral influence): from Italian disastro, from dis- (pejorative) + astro star, from Latin astrum, from Greek astron] disˈastrous adj

dis•as•ter

(dɪˈzæs tər, -ˈzɑ stər)

n. 1. a calamitous event, esp. one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood, airplane crash, or business failure. 2. Obs. an unfavorable aspect of a star or planet. [1585–95; < Middle French desastre < Italian disastro=dis- dis-¹ + astro star < Latin astrum < Greek ástron] syn: disaster, calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm refer to adverse happenings usu. occurring suddenly and unexpectedly. disaster may be caused by negligence, bad judgment, or the like, or by natural forces, as a hurricane or flood: a railroad disaster that claimed many lives. calamity suggests great affliction, either personal or general; the emphasis is on the grief or sorrow caused: the calamity of losing a child. catastrophe refers esp. to the tragic outcome of a personal or public situation; the emphasis is on the destruction or irreplaceable loss: the catastrophe of a defeat in battle. cataclysm, a sudden and violent change in the earth's surface, also refers to a personal or public upheaval: a cataclysm that turned our lives in a new direction.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	disaster - a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune; "lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system"; "his policies were a disaster"catastropheadversity, hard knocks, hardship - a state of misfortune or affliction; "debt-ridden farmers struggling with adversity"; "a life of hardship"
	2.	disaster - an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster"calamity, catastrophe, tragedy, cataclysmmisfortune, bad luck - unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate eventact of God, force majeure, inevitable accident, unavoidable casualty, vis major - a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events; "he discovered that his house was not insured against acts of God"apocalypse - a cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evilfamine - a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and deathkiss of death - something that is ruinous; "if this were known it would be the kiss of death for my political career"meltdown - a disaster comparable to a nuclear meltdown; "there is little likelihood of a meltdown comparable to the American banking collapse in March 1933"plague - any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)visitation - any disaster or catastrophe; "a visitation of the plague"tidal wave - an unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high tidetsunami - a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption; "a colossal tsunami destroyed the Minoan civilization in minutes"
	3.	disaster - an act that has disastrous consequencesdestruction, devastation - the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists

disaster

noun1. catastrophe, trouble, blow, accident, stroke, reverse, tragedy, ruin, misfortune, adversity, calamity, mishap, whammy (informal, chiefly U.S.), misadventure, cataclysm, act of God, bummer (slang), ruination, mischance the second air disaster in less than two months2. failure, mess, flop (informal), catastrophe, rout, debacle, cock-up (Brit. slang), balls-up (taboo slang), non-starter, fuck-up (offensive taboo slang), washout (informal) The whole production was a disaster.

disaster

nounAn occurrence inflicting widespread destruction and distress:calamity, cataclysm, catastrophe, tragedy.

Translations

灾难

disaster

(diˈzaːstə) noun a terrible event, especially one that causes great damage, loss etc. The earthquake was the greatest disaster the country had ever experienced. 災難 灾难diˈsastrous adjective 災難性的 灾难性的diˈsastrously adverb 災難性地 灾难性地

disaster

→ 灾难zhCN