calamity
noun/kəˈlæməti/
/kəˈlæməti/
[countable, uncountable] (plural calamities)
- an event that causes great damage to people’s lives, property, etc. synonym disaster
- The country suffered a series of calamities during the 1980s.
- His financial help saved the magazine from total calamity.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘disaster,’ and‘ distress’): from Old French calamite, from Latin calamitas.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
calamity