disaster
[noun]
Synonyms: catastrophe, adversity, calamity, cataclysm, misfortune, ruin, tragedy, trouble

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Related Words: accident, casualty, fatality, mishap, adversity, distress, misadventure, mischance, misfortune, rock(s)

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English Thesaurus: accident, crash, collision, a head-on collision, disaster, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

di‧sas‧ter S3 W3 /dɪˈzɑːstə $ dɪˈzæstər/ noun [uncountable and countable]
[Word Family: noun: disaster; adverb: disastrously; adjective: disastrous]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: désastre, from Italian disastro, from astro 'star' (from the idea of luck coming from the stars)]

1. a sudden event such as a flood, storm, or accident which causes great damage or suffering ⇒ catastrophe:
One hundred and twenty people died in China’s worst air disaster.
the economic consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
disaster for
The oil spill was a disaster for Alaskan sea animals.
The 1987 hurricane was the worst natural disaster to hit England for decades.
Their expedition nearly ended in disaster, when one of the climbers slid off the mountain.
The drought could spell disaster for wildlife.
Disaster struck when two men were killed during their parachute jumps.
The peace process was on the brink of disaster.
Luckily the pilot saw the other plane just in time, and a disaster was narrowly averted.

2. something that is very bad or a failure, especially when this is very annoying or disappointing
something is a complete/total/disaster
Because of the weather, the parade was a total disaster.
The evening was an unmitigated disaster (=a complete failure).
disaster for
The cuts in funding will be a disaster for the schools.
Five small boys on skis is a recipe for disaster (=is very likely to end badly).

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

disaster
noun
I. bad event/situation
ADJ. awful, big, dreadful, great, major, terrible, worst the biggest disaster in British mining history
near a near disaster in the city centre
imminent, impending It seemed that nothing could prevent the impending disaster. Everyone had the feeling that disaster was imminent.
potential | global, national | natural earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters
man-made | air, ecological, environmental, flood, military, mining, nuclear, rail fears of a nuclear disaster
business, economic, financial | personal
VERB + DISASTER bring, cause, lead to, spell One person's mistakes can bring disaster to someone else. attempts to find out what caused the disaster The drought spelt economic disaster for the country.
avert, avoid, prevent, save sb/sth from, stave off, ward off A major disaster was averted only just in time. What can be done to ward off environmental disaster?
predict, prophesy Independent analysts in the market predicted disaster.
court, invite It's courting disaster to go into the mountains without proper weatherproof clothing.
be heading for his firm belief that the whole world was heading for disaster
face In the last match of the series England were facing disaster.
suffer There are many who have suffered personal disasters but managed to rebuild their lives.
survive It was a miracle any of the passengers or crew survived the worst air disaster in Portugal for 20 years.
end in The show ended in disaster when the tent collapsed.
DISASTER + VERB happen, occur, strike finding out why the disaster occurred Everything was going fine. Then, without warning, disaster struck.
befall sb/sth, hit sb/sth, strike sb/sth the economic disaster that befell the country
loom, threaten We could all see that disaster loomed for the company.
DISASTER + NOUN area, zone Only rescue workers are allowed into the disaster area.
relief | victim
PREP. in a/the ~ In a disaster everyone needs to keep calm.
PHRASES a disaster waiting to happen Any one of these nuclear plants may be a disaster waiting to happen.
in the aftermath of a disaster In the aftermath of the disaster people were too shocked to give a clear picture of what had happened.
a recipe for disaster Letting her organize the party is a recipe for disaster (= sth that is likely to go badly wrong).
a victim of a disaster providing help for the victims of the disaster

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

disaster
II. a failure
ADJ. absolute, complete, real, total, unmitigated The play was a complete disaster from beginning to end.
economic, financial, social Buying that house turned out to be a financial disaster.
VERB + DISASTER prove, turn out to be High-rise buildings proved a social disaster.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

disaster

a natural disaster (=caused by nature)
In recent years there has been an increase in weather-related natural disasters.
an ecological/environmental disaster (=causing great damage to nature)
This region is facing an ecological disaster as a result of toxic waste.
an air/rail disaster (=an air or rail accident)
The crash was the worst rail disaster in Pakistan’s history.
a nuclear disaster (=an accident involving nuclear power or weapons)
A conflict could get out of hand and degenerate into nuclear disaster.
a terrible disaster
It was a terrible disaster which carried away a large part of the hillside.
a disaster strikes (=happens suddenly)
Congress often gives millions of dollars in foreign aid when natural disasters strike.
prevent/avert a disaster
They called for an international programme to prevent the disaster happening again.
a disaster area/zone (=area where a disaster has happened)
Military planes flew food supplies to the disaster area.
disaster relief (=money, food, clothes etc for people in a disaster area)
an emergency appeal for disaster relief
a disaster victim (=someone who is suffering because of a disaster)
Aid is being given to the disaster victims.
a complete/total disaster
Last Saturday’s game was a complete disaster for our team.
a financial/economic/military etc disaster
The project was a financial disaster.
a national disaster
The Labour Party called the new government 'a national disaster'.
a personal disaster
I’d taken some professional risks and survived a few personal disasters.
an unmitigated disaster (=a complete failure)
The $24,000,000 movie was an unmitigated disaster.
a potential disaster (=one that could happen)
Always save a backup copy of your work to avoid potential disasters.
an impending disaster (=one that is going to happen soon)
She had a sense of impending disaster.
end in disaster
By the late 1990s his career had ended in disaster.
spell disaster (=cause something to end badly or fail)
Bad luck and the recession spelt disaster for her business.
be on the brink of disaster (=be almost ending in a very bad way)
Once again the peace process was on the brink of disaster.
be a recipe for disaster (=be a situation that is very likely to end badly)
If you get married too young, it’s a recipe for disaster.
something is a disaster waiting to happen (=used to say that something is bad and will fail)
The government’s educational reforms are a disaster waiting to happen.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt:
Her father died in a car accident.
Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else:
Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.
a car/plane/train crash
He was killed in a plane crash.
collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other:
His car was involved in a collision with a train.
⇒ a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other):
The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured:
It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
wreck American English an accident in which a car or train is badly damaged:
Ben nearly died in a car wreck.
pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks:
The pile-up happened in thick fog.
There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.
fender-bender American English informal
, prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done:
Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.
At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
They just wrecked the place.
trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
The new houses will ruin the view.
accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt:
Her father died in a car accident.
Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else:
Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.
a car/plane/train crash
He was killed in a plane crash.
collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other:
His car was involved in a collision with a train.
⇒ a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other):
The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured:
It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks:
The pile-up happened in thick fog.
There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.
fender-bender American English informal
, prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done:
Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.
At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

disaster 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.
catastrophe 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.
tragedy 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
debacle 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.
earthquake a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage:
A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
It was the biggest earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest for 52 years.
flood a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry:
Bangladesh has been hit by a series of devastating floods (=very bad floods).
The crisis began with floods that covered one third of the countryside.
drought a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live:
The country experienced its worst drought this century.
In East Africa, three years of drought have left 10 million people in urgent need of food and water.
famine a situation in which a large number of people have little or no food for a long time and many people die:
Poor harvests led to famine.
4,000,000 people are threatened by famine in northern Ethiopia.
hurricane a storm that has very strong fast winds and that moves over water – used about storms in the North Atlantic Ocean:
extreme weather such as hurricanes
Hurricane Andrew left southern Florida in ruins.
typhoon a violent tropical storm – used about storms in the Western Pacific Ocean:
A typhoon has hit the Philippines, lifting roofs off houses and uprooting trees.
tsunami a very large wave, caused by extreme conditions such as an earthquake, which can cause a lot of damage when it reaches land:
Thousands of people were killed in the tsunami.
Many Pacific earthquakes have generated tsunamis.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

failure noun [countable] someone or something that is not successful:
The book was a complete failure.
I felt a complete failure.
flop noun [countable] informal something that is not successful because people do not like it – used especially about a film, play, product, or performance:
Despite the hype, the movie was a flop at the box office.
Their next computer was a flop.
disaster noun [countable] used when saying that something is extremely unsuccessful:
Our first date was a disaster.
Their marriage was a total disaster.
fiasco noun [countable usually singular] something that is completely unsuccessful and goes very badly wrong – used especially about things that have been officially planned, which go very wrong:
The baggage system broke down on the first day the airport was open. It was a complete fiasco.
The fiasco came close to ending de Gaulle's political career.
debacle noun [countable usually singular] formal an event or situation that is a complete failure, because it does not happen in the way that it was officially planned:
the banking debacle that has put our economy at risk
shambles noun [singular] especially British English if a situation or event is a shambles, it is completely unsuccessful because it has been very badly planned or organized, and no one seems to know what to do:
The first few shows were a shambles, but things soon got better.
washout noun [singular] informal a failure – used when something is so bad that it would be better if it had not happened:
The play wasn’t a complete washout; the acting was okay.
His most recent and ambitious project, a big-budget Hollywood film, was a washout with both critics and audiences alike.
turkey noun [countable] informal something that is so bad and unsuccessful that you think the people involved should be embarrassed about it – a very informal use:
At the time most people thought the car was a complete turkey.
Since then he has appeared in a string of turkeys.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲