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
Here’s where naming a Wall Street pro who’s a master of spotting where danger’s building may prove a hedge against a future calamity.
—
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
What Trump is most certainly reviewing is the viability of Noem as a Cabinet secretary, who has rapidly become a scapegoat for the predictable calamities of the high-visibility deployment of border guards as SWAT troops in urban centers.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 27 Jan. 2026
Precious metals are widely viewed as a hedge against geopolitical unrest because the millennia-old stores of value are perceived as investments that could outlive calamity.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2026
Let’s assume some calamity like that might avalanche its way into North Texas sometime this winter.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamity
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
What Trump is most certainly reviewing is the viability of Noem as a Cabinet secretary, who has rapidly become a scapegoat for the predictable calamities of the high-visibility deployment of border guards as SWAT troops in urban centers.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 27 Jan. 2026
Precious metals are widely viewed as a hedge against geopolitical unrest because the millennia-old stores of value are perceived as investments that could outlive calamity.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2026
Let’s assume some calamity like that might avalanche its way into North Texas sometime this winter.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamity
Noun
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Another measure, House Bill 1645, would create state versions of FEMA programs as Mississippi officials prepare for reduced federal disaster support.—
ALEX ROZIER Mississippi Today,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
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The February 2021 freeze became one of the deadliest and costliest disasters in state history.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Houston Chronicle,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The death happened four years after a previous tragedy near Northstar.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
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Worst mass shootings in Canada's history The attack on the village of Tumbler Ridge is among the worst shootings in the history of Canada, where such tragedies are relatively rare.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Sure, there’s the intimation of a world gone to pieces, whether from a quantum apocalypse or an ecological catastrophe; there’s the presentation of a modern self, stripped of its qualities and evacuated of purpose.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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The first time was in 2009, when papers across the country were slashing books coverage in an attempt to stave off budgetary apocalypse.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Calamity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamity. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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