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disaster

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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionarydi·sas·ter \di-ˈzas-tər, -ˈsas-\ noun ETYMOLOGY Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French desastre, from Old Italian disastro, from dis- (from Latin) + astrostar, from Latin astrum — more at astral DATE 15681. obsolete : an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star2. a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction; broadly : a sudden or great misfortune or failure the party was a disasterEnglish Etymologydisaster 1580, from M.Frhttp://M.Fr. desastre (1564), from It. disastro "ill-starred," from dis- "away, without" + astro "star, planet," from L. astrum,from Gk. astron (see star). The sense is astrological, of a calamity blamed on an unfavorable position of a planet.Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7☞ disasterdis·as·ter / di5zB:stE(r); NAmE -5zAs- / noun1. [C] an unexpected event, such as a very bad accident, a flood or a fire, that kills a lot of people or causes a lot of damage 灾难；灾祸；灾害 SYN catastrophe : an air disaster 空难 environmental disasters 环境灾难 Thousands died in the disaster. 数千人在这场灾祸中丧生。 a natural disaster (= six that is caused by nature) 自然灾害 2. [C, U] a very bad situation that causes problems 不幸；祸患: Losing your job doesn't have to be such a disaster. 丢了工作不一定就是大难临头。 Disaster struck when the wheel came off. 车轮脱落,灾难就来了。 financial disaster 严重的财政危机 Letting her organize the party is a recipe for disaster (= something that is likely to go badly wrong). 让她来组织这次聚会非坏事不可。 3. [C, U] (informal) a complete failure 彻底失败的人(或事): As a teacher, he's a disaster. 他当老师压根儿就不称职。 The play's first night was a total disaster. 这出戏头一晚就彻底演砸了。 IDIOMS ⇨ see wait v. Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of EnglishOxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englishdisaster noun 1 bad event/situation ADJ. awful, big, dreadful, great, major, terrible, worst the biggest disaster in British mining history | near a near disaster in the city centre | imminent, impending It seemed that nothing could prevent the impending disaster. Everyone had the feeling that disaster was imminent. | potential | global, national | natural earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters | man-made | air, ecological, environmental, flood, military, mining, nuclear, rail fears of a nuclear disaster | business, economic, financial | personal VERB + DISASTER bring, cause, lead to, spell One person's mistakes can bring disaster to someone else. attempts to find out what caused the disaster The drought spelt economic disaster for the country. | avert, avoid, prevent, save sb/sth from, stave off, ward off A major disaster was averted only just in time. What can be done to ward off environmental disaster? | predict, prophesy Independent analysts in the market predicted disaster. | court, invite It's courting disaster to go into the mountains without proper weatherproof clothing. | be heading for his firm belief that the whole world was heading for disaster | face In the last match of the series England were facing disaster. | suffer There are many who have suffered personal disasters but managed to rebuild their lives. | survive It was a miracle any of the passengers or crew survived the worst air disaster in Portugal for 20 years. | end in The show ended in disaster when the tent collapsed. DISASTER + VERB happen, occur, strike finding out why the disaster occurred Everything was going fine. Then, without warning, disaster struck. | befall sb/sth, hit sb/sth, strike sb/sth the economic disaster that befell the country | loom, threaten We could all see that disaster loomed for the company. DISASTER + NOUN area, zone Only rescue workers are allowed into the disaster area. | relief | victim PREP. in a/the ~ In a disaster everyone needs to keep calm. PHRASES a disaster waiting to happen Any one of these nuclear plants may be a disaster waiting to happen. | in the aftermath of a disaster In the aftermath of the disaster people were too shocked to give a clear picture of what had happened. | a recipe for disaster Letting her organize the party is a recipe for disaster (= sth that is likely to go badly wrong). | a victim of a disaster providing help for the victims of the disaster 2 a failure ADJ. absolute, complete, real, total, unmitigated The play was a complete disaster from beginning to end. | economic, financial, social Buying that house turned out to be a financial disaster. VERB + DISASTER prove, turn out to be High-rise buildings proved a social disaster. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Editionn. Function: noun a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction FF1C;a flood disasterstruck the valleyFF1E; Synonyms: calamity, cataclysm, catastrophe, misadventure, tragedy, woe(s) Related Words: accident, casualty, fatality, mishap; adversity, distress, misadventure, mischance, misfortune; rock(s)Webster's Third New International Dictionary, UnabridgedSearch result show the entry is found in: common disaster , or disaster areadi·sas·terI. \də̇ˈz]astə(r), ]aas-, ]ais-, ]ȧs also də̇ˈs]; -ˈs- is less frequent in “disastrous” than in “disaster”, probably because three identical sounds (here, S-sounds) within as many syllables cause a stronger tendency to dissimilation than do two\ noun(-s)Usage: often attributiveEtymology: Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French desastre, from Old Italian disastro, from dis- dis- (I) (from Latin) + astro star, from Latin astrum, from Greek astron — more at star1. obsolete a. : an unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star b. : portent : malevolent influence of a heavenly body2. a. : a sudden calamitous event producing great material damage, loss, and distress < a flood disaster > < a mine disaster > < such a war would be the final and supreme disaster to the world — Archibald MacLeish > b. : a sudden or great misfortune : calamity < the loss of his wife was the culminating disaster of the trip > c. : a complete failure : fiasco < only his skillful direction saved the play from being a unqualified disaster >Synonyms: calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm: these words refer to events of great misfortune, duress, and loss, and they are often interchangeable. disaster may connote the sudden and unexpected, with attendant notions of lack of foresight < accidents to various ships thwarted this attempt, and brought about a battle disastrous to him — A.T.Mahan > The misfortunes of a disaster may be measurable < taking the atom bomb out of the realms of unimaginable horror and showing it as a measurable disaster — Economist > calamity may heighten suggestions of lasting emotion, affliction, grief at loss < a disaster, for me a calamity — John Galsworthy > < revolving this last chapter of calamity suddenly opened where happiness had promised — George Meredith > catastrophe is often stronger than disaster or calamity < which spell discomfort when one cycle, distress when two, catastrophe when all cycles are in the depression phase — E.R.Dewey & E.F.Dakin > It may suggest finality < has Europe been engulfed at last by irrevocable tragedy? Has the fair continent … been overtaken at last by irremediable catastrophe — T.R.Ybarra > cataclysm suggests an upheaval that overwhelms, shatters, and submerges an established order; it usually applies to the general or universal rather than to the limited or personal < it is not clear whether the Norman Conquest and the Russian Revolution are cataclysms or forms of political activity — J.C.Rees > < the impact of war and defeat on the South was immediate and cataclysmic — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager > All of these words and their derivatives are used less precisely in milder situations < a considerable incident. Almost a disaster — Joseph Conrad > < live down its small calamities — Frederic Morton > < to save the city from the catastrophic mismanagement of its own officials — T.E.Dewey > < the catclysmic race, with two real chariots, each drawn by four Arabian horses — Time >II. transitive verb(-ed/-ing/-s)obsolete : to bring harm upon : injure, ruin

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