noun
el desastre
disaster
Situación muy mala o dañina en la que algo sale completamente mal o causa muchos problemas.
Definition & meaning
- Disaster: A sudden event that causes great damage, suffering, or loss, such as an earthquake or flood.
- Failure or mess: A situation, result, or person that is disorganized or unsuccessful. This sense is often informal.
Grammar & Word origin
Desastre is a masculine noun: el desastre, plural los desastres.
It comes through French from Italian disastro, originally referring to an unfavorable alignment of stars.
Synonyms & antonyms
- catástrofe — “catastrophe”; usually suggests a particularly serious disaster.
- calamidad — “calamity”; emphasizes suffering or misfortune.
- fracaso — “failure”; applies to an unsuccessful outcome rather than necessarily to a destructive event.
- éxito — “success”; an opposite when desastre means a failure.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
El huracán causó un gran desastre en la ciudad.noun
The hurricane caused a great disaster in the city.
El desastre natural dejó muchas personas sin hogar.noun
The natural disaster left many people homeless.
El desastre provocó muchos problemas en la región.noun
The disaster caused many problems in the region.
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