1
general::
disaster
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + disaster
a natural disaster
(= caused by nature )
• In recent years there has been an increase in weather-related natural disasters.
an ecological/environmental disaster
(= causing great damage to nature )
• This region is facing an ecological disaster as a result of toxic waste.
an air/rail disaster
(= an air or rail accident )
• The crash was the worst rail disaster in Pakistan’s history.
a nuclear disaster
(= an accident involving nuclear power or weapons )
• A conflict could get out of hand and degenerate into nuclear disaster.
a terrible disaster
• It was a terrible disaster which carried away a large part of the hillside.
verbs
a disaster strikes
(= happens suddenly )
• Congress often gives millions of dollars in foreign aid when natural disasters strike.
prevent/avert a disaster
• They called for an international programme to prevent the disaster happening again.
disaster + NOUN
a disaster area/zone
(= area where a disaster has happened )
• Military planes flew food supplies to the disaster area.
disaster relief
(= money, food, clothes etc for people in a disaster area )
• an emergency appeal for disaster relief
a disaster victim
(= someone who is suffering because of a disaster )
• Aid is being given to the disaster victims.
disaster 2
adjectives
a complete/total disaster
• Last Saturday’s game was a complete disaster for our team.
a financial/economic/military etc disaster
• The project was a financial disaster.
a national disaster
• The Labour Party called the new government 'a national disaster'.
a personal disaster
• I’d taken some professional risks and survived a few personal disasters.
an unmitigated disaster
(= a complete failure )
• The $24,000,000 movie was an unmitigated disaster.
a potential disaster
(= one that could happen )
• Always save a backup copy of your work to avoid potential disasters.
an impending disaster
(= one that is going to happen soon )
• She had a sense of impending disaster.
verbs
end in disaster
• By the late 1990s his career had ended in disaster.
spell disaster
(= cause something to end badly or fail )
• Bad luck and the recession spelt disaster for her business.
phrases
be on the brink of disaster
(= be almost ending in a very bad way )
• Once again the peace process was on the brink of disaster.
be a recipe for disaster
(= be a situation that is very likely to end badly )
• If you get married too young, it’s a recipe for disaster.
something is a disaster waiting to happen
(= used to say that something is bad and will fail )
• The government’s educational reforms are a disaster waiting to happen.
transnet.ir
2
general::
disaster
a sudden event such as an accident, or a natural event such as a flood or storm, which causes great damage or suffering:
• 200 people died in the train disaster. • The earthquake was the worst natural disaster to hit India for over 50 years.
catastrophe
a terrible event in which there is a lot of destruction, damage, suffering, or death over a wide area of the world:
• A large comet hitting the earth would be a catastrophe. • We don’t want another nuclear catastrophe like Chernobyl. • Scientists say that the oil spill is an ecological catastrophe.
tragedy
a very sad event, that shocks people because it involves death:
• It was a tragedy that he died so young. • the AIDS tragedy in Africa
debacle
an event or situation that is a complete failure and is very embarrassing:
• The opening ceremony turned into a debacle. • The team is hoping to do better this game, after last week’s debacle against the Chicago Bears.
natural disasters
earthquake
a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage:
• A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. • It was the biggest earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest for 52 years.
flood
a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry:
• Bangladesh has been hit by a series of devastating floods (= very bad floods ) . • The crisis began with floods that covered one third of the countryside.
drought
a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live:
• The country experienced its worst drought this century. • In East Africa, three years of drought have left 10 million people in urgent need of food and water.
famine
a situation in which a large number of people have little or no food for a long time and many people die:
• Poor harvests led to famine. • 4,000,000 people are threatened by famine in northern Ethiopia.
hurricane
a storm that has very strong fast winds and that moves over water – used about storms in the North Atlantic Ocean:
• extreme weather such as hurricanes • Hurricane Andrew left southern Florida in ruins.
typhoon
a violent tropical storm – used about storms in the Western Pacific Ocean:
• A typhoon has hit the Philippines, lifting roofs off houses and uprooting trees.
tsunami
a very large wave, caused by extreme conditions such as an earthquake, which can cause a lot of damage when it reaches land:
• Thousands of people were killed in the tsunami. • Many Pacific earthquakes have generated tsunamis.
Longman-Thesaurus
4
general::
noun bad event/situation ADJ. awful, big, dreadful, great, major, terrible, worst the biggest disaster in British mining history | near a near disaster in the city centre | imminent, impending It seemed that nothing could prevent the impending disaster. Everyone had the feeling that disaster was imminent. | potential | global, national | natural earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters | man-made | air, ecological, environmental, flood, military, mining, nuclear, rail fears of a nuclear disaster | business, economic, financial | personal VERB + DISASTER bring, cause, lead to, spell One person's mistakes can bring disaster to someone else. attempts to find out what caused the disaster The drought spelt economic disaster for the country. | avert, avoid, prevent, save sb/sth from, stave off, ward off A major disaster was averted only just in time. What can be done to ward off environmental disaster? | predict, prophesy Independent analysts in the market predicted disaster. | court, invite It's courting disaster to go into the mountains without proper weatherproof clothing. | be heading for his firm belief that the whole world was heading for disaster | face In the last match of the series England were facing disaster. | suffer There are many who have suffered personal disasters but managed to rebuild their lives. | survive It was a miracle any of the passengers or crew survived the worst air disaster in Portugal for 20 years. | end in The show ended in disaster when the tent collapsed. DISASTER + VERB happen, occur, strike finding out why the disaster occurred Everything was going fine. Then, without warning, disaster struck. | befall sb/sth, hit sb/sth, strike sb/sth the economic disaster that befell the country | loom, threaten We could all see that disaster loomed for the company. DISASTER + NOUN area, zone Only rescue workers are allowed into the disaster area. | relief | victim PREP. in a/the ~ In a disaster everyone needs to keep calm. PHRASES a disaster waiting to happen Any one of these nuclear plants may be a disaster waiting to happen. | in the aftermath of a disaster In the aftermath of the disaster people were too shocked to give a clear picture of what had happened. | a recipe for disaster Letting her organize the party is a recipe for disaster (= sth that is likely to go badly wrong). | a victim of a disaster providing help for the victims of the disaster a failure ADJ. absolute, complete, real, total, unmitigated The play was a complete disaster from beginning to end. | economic, financial, social Buying that house turned out to be a financial disaster. VERB + DISASTER prove, turn out to be High-rise buildings proved a social disaster.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary