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- pronunciation:
- dih
zae
st
 r
- features:
- Word Combinations (noun), Word History, Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
a sudden calamity, esp. one causing widespread damage or suffering such as an earthquake, flood, oil spill, or fire.
Thousands of people were left homeless by the disaster.
- synonyms:
- calamity, catastrophe, tragedy
- similar words:
- accident, affliction, blow, cataclysm, debacle, misfortune, mishap, ruination, scourge
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| definition 2: |
a complete failure; fiasco.
The first fancy meal I tried to cook was a disaster.- synonyms:
- fiasco
- similar words:
- bomb, bust, dud, failure, fizzle, flop
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| related words: |
abortion, adversity, ordeal |
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Disaster comes from disastro, an Italian word that means "without the stars." In former times, it was thought that the stars influenced human events. Terrible events were believed to have been caused by an unlucky position of the stars.
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