calamitous

adjective

ca·​lam·​i·​tous kə-ˈla-mə-təs 

: being, causing, or accompanied by calamity

calamitous events

a calamitous earthquake

calamitously adverb

Synonyms

• cataclysmal
• cataclysmic
• catastrophic
• damning
• destructive
• disastrous
• fatal
• fateful
• ruinous
• unfortunate

Examples of calamitous in a Sentence

the calamitous state of the nation's economy

a calamitous decision to sell their products online exclusively ruined the business

Recent Examples on the Web

But Herbert didn't resemble Brady or Rodgers at any point during his calamitous day Saturday. —Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 12 Jan. 2025

Everyone knows California is disaster-prone, but there’s a familiar logic to the calamitous geography in this high-maintenance beauty of a state. —Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025

The calamitous fall could be attributed to a number of things. —Kevin Fishbain, The Athletic, 25 Dec. 2024

In its two most recent games, its goalkeeper, André Onana, has made calamitous clangers, leading to easy goals for the opposition. —Alex Tabet, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French calamiteux "suffering misfortune, miserable," borrowed from Latin calamitōsus "liable to damage or disaster, afflicted by disaster, ill-starred, involving damage or disaster, ruinous," by haplology from *calamitātōsus, from calamitāt-, calamitās "disaster, misfortune, calamity" + -ōsus -ous

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

calamitous

adjective

ca·​lam·​i·​tous kə-ˈlam-ət-əs 

: causing or accompanied by calamity

calamitous events

calamitously adverb

calamitousness noun