CATASTROPHE.
Synonyms:
| calamity, | denouement, | mischance, | mishap, |
| cataclysm, | disaster, | misfortune, | sequel. |
A cataclysm or catastrophe is some great convulsion or momentous event that may or may not be a cause of misery to man. In calamity, or disaster, the thought of human suffering is always present. It has been held by many geologists that numerous catastrophes or cataclysms antedated the existence of man. In literature, the final event of a drama is the catastrophe, or denouement. Misfortune ordinarily suggests less of suddenness and violence than calamity or disaster, and is especially applied to that which is lingering or enduring in its effects. In history, the end of every great war or the fall of a nation is a catastrophe, tho it may not be a calamity. Yet such an event, if not a calamity to the race, will always involve much individual disaster and misfortune. Pestilence is a calamity; a defeat in battle, a shipwreck, or a failure in business is a disaster; sickness or loss of property is a misfortune; failure to meet a friend is a mischance; the breaking of a teacup is a mishap.
Antonyms:
| benefit, | boon, | favor, | pleasure, | prosperity, |
| blessing, | comfort, | help, | privilege, | success. |
Preposition:
The catastrophe of a play; of a siege; rarely, to a person, etc.