From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcalamityca‧lam‧i‧ty /kəˈlæməti/ noun (plural calamities) [countable] DISASTERa terrible and unexpected event that causes a lot of damage or suffering SYN disaster It will be a calamity for farmers if the crops fail again. —calamitous adjective
Examples from the Corpus
calamity• Better therefore to try to anticipate such a calamity by assuming the role of an active and vigilant peace-maker.• The flood was a calamity from which Bangladesh has never fully recovered.• Other research demonstrated that should Canterbury Cathedral collapse in some dreadful calamity, it would actually pay the city to rebuild it.• Yet just then, amid industrial calamity, Taylor landed his apprenticeship.• Hurricane George was just the latest calamity to hit the state.• Multiple calamities had come to mind.• Singh told reporters that he had not seen such human suffering in any previous natural calamity.• No calamity in this house, eh?• At her readers, she throws the challenge of accepting that any friendship could survive those calamities.• This, he said, although giving temporary surcease was the road to calamity.• Financial support in the future should be designed to support farmers when calamities occur, and not to control their lives.Origin calamity (1300-1400) Old French calamité, from Latin calamitas 