as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
this latest breakdown of the car is inconvenient, but not a calamity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of calamity
The winter had been a season of calamities, with one emergency or challenge after another.
—
Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 10 May 2026
Farmers markets — that humble and charming throwback to a bygone era — are also struggling with higher fuel prices, after weathering the economic calamities of the pandemic and other misfortunes.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026
Democrats have worried that their crowded field could result in two Republicans advancing, which would be a historic calamity for the party.
—ABC News, 5 May 2026
Prior administration has proactively refunded taxpayers in past misfortune and calamity events, and/or major economic downturns.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamity
Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 10 May 2026
Farmers markets — that humble and charming throwback to a bygone era — are also struggling with higher fuel prices, after weathering the economic calamities of the pandemic and other misfortunes.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026
Democrats have worried that their crowded field could result in two Republicans advancing, which would be a historic calamity for the party.
—ABC News, 5 May 2026
Prior administration has proactively refunded taxpayers in past misfortune and calamity events, and/or major economic downturns.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamity
Noun
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With Edgewater in the flood zone and Station 42 and Three Rock in disaster response mode, Bode (Max Thieriot) was on a side quest to make amends with Danny Marks (Mike O'Malley), a victim of Bode's criminal past.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
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Through packing serious, scalable power into a mobile shipping container, VIVIFY is targeting remote industrial sites, disaster zones, forward military bases, and power-hungry data centers.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
22 May 2026
Noun
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For much the same reason, developers, architects and builders are starting to stress proactively designing for climate catastrophe.—
Jeffrey Steele,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Local elections in England are usually low-stakes affairs, but this year’s results proved to be a catastrophe for the Labour Party.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Noun
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The Paramount+ drama series follows a New York family that relocates to rural Montana after a family tragedy.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
21 May 2026
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That’s not to minimize the tragedies of the early 737 Max crashes, but to acknowledge that Boeing, airlines, and regulators took those events seriously and addressed the problems.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
That presentiment lies behind the many present expressions of apocalypse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
This helped to set off the SaaS apocalypse.—
Steve Banker,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Calamity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamity. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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