disaster

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disaster

/dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ UK
[dɪˈzɑːs.təː] UK
/dɪˈzas.təː/ Northern England, UK
/dəˈzäːs.təː/
[dəˈzäːs.təː]
/dəˈzɐ̞ːs.təː/
[dəˈzɐ̞ːs.təː]
/dɪˈzæs.tɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
[dɪˈzæs.tʰɚ] ~ [dɪˈzæs.tʰɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
/dəˈzæs.tɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
[dəˈzæs.tʰɚ] ~ [dəˈzæs.tʰɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard

Rhymes with -ɑːstə(ɹ), -æstə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro, from dis- + astro (“star”), from Latin astrum (“star”), from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr.

noun disasters · disastre

countable, uncountable An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent change to the natural environment. People would suffer disasters when society's morality degenerates.
countable, uncountable An unfortunate or unpleasant occurrence, especially one resulting from an accident or something going wrong. Then Jill came in, And she did grin, To see Jack's paper plaster; Her mother whipt her, Across her knee, For laughing at Jack's disaster.
countable, uncountable An wholly unsatisfactory result caused by something going wrong or being done poorly; a flop or failure. the cake was a disaster.
countable, uncountable A skateboard trick involving a 180-degree ollie, landing on the center of the board with the front trucks facing towards the ramp and the back trucks over the lip. The skater then leans forwards to return in the ramp.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: catastrophe, cataclysm, calamity, tragedy, catastrophic, debacle, reduction, setback, destruction, havoc, devastation, downfall, loss, breakup, ruin, wreck

noun

Translations

Every language

noun unexpected catastrophe causing physical damage, etc.

Español	desastre
한국어	재난 jaenan, 재앙 jaeang, 재해 jaehae, 참사 chamsa
日本語	災害 saigai, 天災 tensai, 惨事 sanji, 災い wazawai
中文	災難 /灾难 zāinàn, 災害 /灾害 zāihài, 災禍 /灾祸 zāihuò
हिन्दी	आपदा āpdā, तबाही tabāhī, आफ़त āfat, मुसीबत musībat
Kiswahili	janga, afa
Português	desastre
Français	désastre, catastrophe
Deutsch	Desaster, Unglück, Katastrophe, Unheil
Italiano	disastro
Ελληνικά	καταστροφή katastrofí
Română	nenorocire, dezastru, catastrofă, flagel, calamitate
Русский	бе́дствие bédstvije, катастро́фа katastrófa, несча́стье nesčástʹje, го́ре góre, беда́ bedá
Tiếng Việt	tai hoạ, thảm hoạ
العربية	كَارِثَة kāriṯa, مُصِيبَة muṣība, آفَة ʔāfa
עברית	אָסוֹן asón

noun unforeseen event causing great loss, etc.

한국어	재난 jaenan
日本語	災難 sainan
中文	災難 /灾难 zāinàn
Kiswahili	janga, afa
Português	desastre
Français	désastre
Deutsch	Desaster
Italiano	disastro
Ελληνικά	καταστροφή katastrofí
Română	dezastru
Русский	бе́дствие bédstvije, катастро́фа katastrófa
עברית	אָסוֹן asón

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MLA

"disaster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/disaster. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

disaster. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/disaster

Chicago

"disaster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/disaster.

BibTeX

@misc{disaster_2026,
  title = {disaster},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/disaster},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}