Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Catastrophe
Ca-tas′tro-phe
,Noun.
[L.
catastropha
, Gr. [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] to turn up and down, to overturn; κατά
down + [GREEK] to turn.] 1.
An event producing a subversion of the order or system of things; a final event, usually of a calamitous or disastrous nature; hence, sudden calamity; great misfortune.
The strange
catastrophe
of affairs now at London. Bp. Burnet.
The most horrible and portentous
catastrophe
that nature ever yet saw. Woodward.
2.
The final event in a romance or a dramatic piece; a denouement, as a death in a tragedy, or a marriage in a comedy.
3.
(Geol.)
A violent and widely extended change in the surface of the earth,
as, an elevation or subsidence of some part of it, effected by internal causes
. Whewell.
Webster 1828 Edition
Catastrophe
CATASTROPHE
,Definition 2024
catastrophe
catastrophe
See also: catastrophé and catastrophë
English
Alternative forms
- catastrophë (now rare)
- catastrophy
Noun
catastrophe (plural catastrophes)
- Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
- (insurance) A disaster beyond expectations
- (narratology) The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot in a tragedy.
- (mathematics) A type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states.
Derived terms
- catastrophe bond
- catastrophe theory
Related terms
Translations
any large and disastrous event of great significance
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disaster beyond expectations
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Ancient Greek tragedies: the solution of the plot
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mathematics: type of bifurcation
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French
Etymology
From Ancient Greek, see above
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka.tas.tʁɔf/
Noun
catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)
Synonyms
Verb
catastrophe
- first-person singular present indicative of catastropher
- third-person singular present indicative of catastropher
- first-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
- first-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
- second-person singular imperative of catastropher