Definitions for catastrophekəˈtæs trə fi
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word catastrophe
calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysm(noun)
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
"the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster"
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
"lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system"; "his policies were a disaster"
a sudden violent change in the earth's surface
Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
A disaster beyond expectations
The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot in a tragedy.
A type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states.
Origin: From καταστροφή, from καταστρέφω, from κατά + στρέφω
an event producing a subversion of the order or system of things; a final event, usually of a calamitous or disastrous nature; hence, sudden calamity; great misfortune
the final event in a romance or a dramatic piece; a denouement, as a death in a tragedy, or a marriage in a comedy
a violent and widely extended change in the surface of the earth, as, an elevation or subsidence of some part of it, effected by internal causes
Origin: [L. catastropha, Gr. , fr. to turn up and down, to overturn; kata` down + to turn.]
Catastrophe is a short play by Samuel Beckett, written in French in 1982 at the invitation of A.I.D.A. and “[f]irst produced in the Avignon Festival … Beckett considered it ‘massacred.’” It is one of his few plays to deal with a political theme and, arguably, holds the title of Beckett's most optimistic work. It was dedicated to then imprisoned Czech reformer and playwright, Václav Havel.