Calamity
Gutted markets, flooded districts, and missed last metros all get filed under this noun when sudden damage needs a serious name.
Learn This WordMeaning
A sudden disaster event.
Memory trick
CALAMITY strikes like hail on the calamus (stalk): the harvest flattened overnight.
Examples
Floods brought calamity.
The fire that gutted the old market was the town’s worst calamity in decades.
Missing the last metro after a late match feels like a personal calamity.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin calamitas "disaster," originally crop failure (calamus "stalk"). A ruined harvest was the original calamity.
Usage Notes
Bigger than mishap, sudden by nature: floods, fires, quakes are calamities. Relief language follows: victims, aid, rehabilitation.
Real-life contexts
Use in news: "The cyclone was declared a national calamity."
Use in essays: "Drought is a slow calamity for dry districts."
Use lightly: "Losing my notes before finals was a mini calamity."
Common Mistakes
Calamity is an event, not a feeling; people suffer calamities, they are not calamities. Keep it for large-scale sudden damage.
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Start LearningQuick Facts
Part of Speech
noun
Difficulty
intermediateMonthly Searches
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