1
as in catastrophes
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
hurricanes are natural disasters
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in failures
something that has failed
an utter disaster, the play opened and closed on the same miserable night
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disasters
The Packers had seen their season end in two of the last three postseasons in part because of special teams disasters, and Saturday night was no different.
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The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Overall, the nation suffered a staggering 23 separate weather and climate disasters in 2025, each of which cost over $1 billion in damages.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
Climate and environment Two years ago voters approved a $10 billion climate bond to help California prepare for and minimize the impacts of wildfires, flooding and other disasters.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Still, the administration acknowledged that recent disasters — including last year’s Eaton and Palisades fires that killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures — highlighted the need to further protect communities.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Last year was the third-highest year on record for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, according to new data from Climate Central.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
The market is already undersupplied, and in 2025 several of the world’s largest mines were temporarily closed because of disasters including mudslides, earthquakes, and collapsed tunnels.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Gird your loins for potential shockwaves from logistical cyberattacks, crumbling critical infrastructure, even more extreme weather disasters and, most of all, intense geopolitical fragmentation that will further roil trade relationships, warned Everstream Analytics.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Jan. 2026
Last year ranks third, behind 2023 and 2024, on the list for the greatest number of billion-dollar disasters, and well above average for the cost to the country based on data going back to 1980, Climate Central found.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disasters
Noun
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An observer of catastrophes, come what may.—
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Across their nearly 100-year football rivalry, USC and Notre Dame have only paused their annual matchup for global catastrophes like World War II and the Covid-19 pandemic.—
Noun
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Thinking globally and acting locally means electing people of vision, not people who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag without a lobbyist lighting their way under the table, or down the wrong path where for-profit companies rule and teachers are scapegoated for society's failures.—
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Despite multiple ongoing investigations, survivors say officials still lack answers about why response failures disproportionately affected west Altadena.—
Noun
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Different tragedies, but the same grief for a community betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect and serve.—
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The book captures powerfully the rich possibilities that lie between integrity and despair, as Sybil reckons with the fallout of her life’s tragedies.—
Noun
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Advertisement Books provide us with refuge from disappointments and heartbreak and loss.—
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Yes, rookie draftees got playing opportunities but none was a standout, and the top two picks were closer to disappointments than successes.—
Noun
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Based on Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, the surrealist musical follows one nuclear family across thousands of years and three apocalypses.—
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And a lot of the pseudepigrapha, like the fake gospels and fake apocalypses, fill in gaps in the record that can serve latter-day, post-biblical purposes.—
Noun
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About 20 Air Force combat planes, including F-15Es, A-10s and AC-130J gunships, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones and Jordanian F-16 fighter jets, fired more than 90 bombs and missiles toward at least 35 targets Saturday, according to Capt.—
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Dishes range from caviar or rock oysters (teamed with cranberry, spiced pumpkin, and classic sauces) to Dover sole meunière, Cornish lobster bisque, black truffle arancini, seared scallop, loin of venison, and chocolate bombs for dessert.—
Noun
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Massive radiation storms, earthquakes, and other calamities continue to make the outside world highly dangerous.—
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Not so much for most of the thousands of people displaced a year ago by the twin fire calamities that hit the east and west ends of Los Angeles County.—
Noun
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The full order for picks 19-32 will be decided by playoff results — teams eliminated in the wild-card round will be placed into slots 19-24; divisional-round losers will hold picks 25-28, and so on.—
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Dominic Tierney is an expert on losers—in the best possible way.—
Cite this Entry
“Disasters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disasters. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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