Calamity
[kə'læmɪtɪ] or [kə'læməti]
Definition
(noun.) an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; 'the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity'; 'the earthquake was a disaster'.
Inputed by Erma--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals.
(n.) A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery.
Checked by Anita
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Disaster, misfortune, catastrophe, mishap, mischance, reverse, visitation, trial, blow, stroke, trouble, affliction, adversity, distress, hardship, casualty, ill luck, ill fortune.
Checked by Giselle
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Disaster, misfortune, mishap, catastrophe, misadventure, trouble, visitation,affliction, reverse, blight
ANT:godsend, blessing, boon
Editor: Rae
Definition
n. a great misfortune: affliction.—adj. Calam′itous making wretched disastrous.—adv. Calam′itously in a calamitous manner.—n. Calam′itousness the quality of producing distress: distress: misery.
Editor: Val
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A more than commonly plain and unmistakable reminder that the affairs of this life are not of our own ordering. Calamities are of two kinds: misfortune to ourselves and good fortune to others.
Edited by Clare
Examples
- Even before these incursions learning had suffered under the calamity of war. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The house in Montagu Square was associated with the calamity of her mother's death. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- And when calamity or when disgrace is coming to it, let the Dedlocks listen for my step! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Now may God avert such a calamity! Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me, and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy or death. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- On the next day Laura knew that his death had released her, and that the error and the calamity of her life lay buried in his tomb. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Even Woola seemed to feel the weight of the impending calamity, for he pressed close to Dejah Thoris and to me, whining pitifully. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- No new calamity shall lacerate your sensibilities--sensibilities precious to me as my own. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- A calamity had come upon her. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- She wept over her little girl; she looked, she spoke, as if she dreaded the occurrence of some frightful calamity. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- It will be for the first time; it is in a moment of calamity. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I did everything for the beSt. I am not answerable for a deplorable calamity, which it was quite impossible to foresee. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- That would be calamity for her and success for him. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- In the right of her calamity, in the right of her friendlessness, she was mine at last! Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The extent of the calamity left Mr. Letterblair white and incapacitated. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Pin-pricks hurt more than cannon balls, and incessant worries are far more painful than great calamities. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- The flood and storms did more harm to continental Europe than to us--giving, as it were, the last blow to the calamities which destroyed it. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- I doubt if I have made the best use of all my calamities. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Well, there's calamities where we least expect it, whether or no. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Terrible have been the calamities that have befallen your great-grandsire's mighty nation since the fatal day that saw you leave our midst. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- I pray God to strengthen me to bear this and other calamities, and to bless you always. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
Checked by Elisha