catastrophe

[kuh-tas-truh-fee] /kəˈtæs trə fi/
noun
1.
a sudden and widespread disaster:
the catastrophe of war.
2.
any misfortune, mishap, or failure; fiasco:
The play was so poor our whole evening was a catastrophe.
3.
a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one; a disastrous end:
the great catastrophe of the Old South at Appomattox.
4.
(in a drama) the point at which the circumstances overcome the central motive, introducing the close or conclusion; dénouement.
Compare catastasis, epitasis, protasis.
5.
Geology. a sudden, violent disturbance, especially of a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
6.
Also called catastrophe function. Mathematics. any of the mathematical functions that describe the discontinuities that are treated in catastrophe theory.
Origin
1570-80; < Greek katastrophḗ an overturning, akin to katastréphein to overturn. See cata-, strophe
Related forms
catastrophic
[kat-uh-strof-ik] /ˌkæt əˈstrɒf ɪk/ (Show IPA), catastrophical, catastrophal, adjective
supercatastrophe, noun
Synonyms
1. misfortune, calamity. 1, 3. See disaster.
Antonyms
1, 3. triumph.
Examples from the web for catastrophe
  • The master's degree stepping stone as a terminal degree from a dept is a catastrophe.
  • Absent a catastrophe of biblical proportions, you'll come up with a pretty good prediction.
  • At this time there is no effective plan if a catastrophe such as a ship collision or oil spill occurs.
  • There is no need, however, that such a catastrophe should happen.
  • The only way out of this conundrum is to hypothesise some kind of catastrophe that brings an end to the universe.
  • Because they do not have any catastrophe risk for humans.
  • And in those deaths, public health experts hear the distant rumbling of a global catastrophe.
  • But what was initially a bit of a scientific curiosity soon became a potential catastrophe.
  • Her stillness alone failed to give warning to her daughters that a catastrophe had occurred for all of them.
  • The torture of prisoners, authorized at the highest level, has been an ethical and a public-diplomacy catastrophe.
British Dictionary definitions for catastrophe

catastrophe

/kəˈtæstrəfɪ/
noun
1.
a sudden, extensive, or notable disaster or misfortune
2.
the denouement of a play, esp a classical tragedy
3.
a final decisive event, usually causing a disastrous end
4.
Also called cataclysm. any sudden and violent change in the earth's surface caused by flooding, earthquake, or some other rapid process
Derived Forms
catastrophic (ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk) adjective
catastrophically, adverb
Word Origin
C16: from Greek katastrophē, from katastrephein to overturn, from strephein to turn
Word Origin and History for catastrophe
n.

1530s, "reversal of what is expected" (especially a fatal turning point in a drama), from Latin catastropha, from Greek katastrophe "an overturning; a sudden end," from katastrephein "to overturn, turn down, trample on; to come to an end," from kata "down" (see cata-) + strephein "turn" (see strophe). Extension to "sudden disaster" is first recorded 1748.

Encyclopedia Article for catastrophe

in literature, the final action that completes the unraveling of the plot in a play, especially in a tragedy. Catastrophe is a synonym of denouement. The term is sometimes applied to a similar action in a novel or story.

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