calamity

Pronunciation: /kəˈlæmɪti/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun an event resulting in great loss and misfortune

Etymology

From Middle French calamité, from Latin calamitās (“loss, damage; disaster”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysm

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
misfortune
Narrower (hyponyms)
act of god, famine, tsunami, plague, meltdown, kiss of death

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