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Zhou Jueyu
what's the difference between catastrophe, calamity and disaster
what's the difference between catastrophe, calamity and disaster.
Oct 26, 2016 2:54 PM
Answers · 4
1
Calamity is a very old-fashioned word - it has the same meaning as the other two to me, but it is so rarely heard that I don't feel it's really worth adding to your vocabulary.
If you're just talking about a general bad event, then I'd say both disaster and catastrophe would work. For example:
I just finished the test. I did so badly, it was a disaster!
I just finished the test. I did so badly, it was a catastrophe!
The only case in which there is a distinction is when you're talking about natural events. For example a tornado, an earthquake, a flood etc. Then you would use the term "natural disaster", e.g. "It is believed that global warming will contribute to a higher frequency of natural disasters in the coming years". You can't use catastrophe in this sentence.
October 26, 2016
Thank you, one more questions, can I use"catastrophe" or "disaster"to describe a bad situations that the human did. eg:invade , which is prefer to chose? thank you~
October 26, 2016
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Zhou Jueyu
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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