'Calamity' definitions:
Definition of 'calamity'
From: WordNet
noun
An event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster" [syn: calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysm]
Definition of 'Calamity'
From: GCIDE
- Calamity \Ca*lam"i*ty\n.; pl. Calamities. [L. calamitas, akin to in-columis unharmed: cf. F. calamit['e]]
- 1. Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals. [1913 Webster]
- Note: The word calamity was first derived from calamus when the corn could not get out of the stalk. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- Strokes of calamity that scathe and scorch the soul. --W. Irving. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery. [1913 Webster]
- The deliberations of calamity are rarely wise. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
- Where'er I came I brought calamity. --Tennyson.
- Syn: Disaster; distress; affliction; adversity; misfortune; unhappiness; infelicity; mishap; mischance; misery; evil; extremity; exigency; downfall.
- Usage: Calamity, Disaster, Misfortune, Mishap, Mischance. Of these words, calamity is the strongest. It supposes a somewhat continuous state, produced not usually by the direct agency of man, but by natural causes, such as fire, flood, tempest, disease, etc, Disaster denotes literally ill-starred, and is some unforeseen and distressing event which comes suddenly upon us, as if from hostile planet. Misfortune is often due to no specific cause; it is simply the bad fortune of an individual; a link in the chain of events; an evil independent of his own conduct, and not to be charged as a fault. Mischance and mishap are misfortunes of a trivial nature, occurring usually to individuals. "A calamity is either public or private, but more frequently the former; a disaster is rather particular than private; it affects things rather than persons; journey, expedition, and military movements are often attended with disasters; misfortunes are usually personal; they immediately affect the interests of the individual." --Crabb. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'calamity'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- accident,
- adversity,
- affliction,
- bane,
- blow,
- bugbear,
- burden,
- casualty,
- cataclysm,
- catastrophe,
- collapse,
- collision,
- contretemps,
- crack-up,
- crash,
- cross,
- crushing burden,
- curse,
- death,
- desolation,
- destruction,
- devastation,
- disaster,
- disease,
- distress,
- evil,
- fatal accident,
- fatality,
- grief,
- grievance,
- hardship,
- harm,
- ill hap,
- infliction,
- misadventure,
- mischance,
- misery,
- misfortune,
- mishap,
- nasty blow,
- nemesis,
- open wound,
- pest,
- pestilence,
- pileup,
- plague,
- reverse,
- ruin,
- ruination,
- running sore,
- scourge,
- shipwreck,
- shock,
- smash,
- smashup,
- staggering blow,
- thorn,
- torment,
- tragedy,
- trial,
- tribulation,
- trouble,
- vexation,
- violent death,
- visitation,
- woe,
- wreck,
- wretchedness