1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a calamitous decision to sell their products online exclusively ruined the business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction
a calamitous flood that destroyed the town's central business district
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of calamitous
When parents and teachers raised children to to believe that their futures mattered; when leaders transcended ideology to make communities stronger and better-prepared to stand together in calamitous times.
—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026
Anna and Robert, however, despair over the imminent disruption of the family unit, and drastic, escalatingly calamitous steps are taken toward maintaining the status quo.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The upshot is the hedge funds faced a perfect storm and, as the crypto market slumped further this week, the value of their holdings declined until they got liquidated—forcing the mass sell-off of IBIT shares and a calamitous fall for Bitcoin.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
Despite a calamitous financial outlook, its share price has shown resiliency — soaring to an all-time high of almost $500 last month before falling back to around $422 this morning after the Q4 reveal.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamitous
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026
Anna and Robert, however, despair over the imminent disruption of the family unit, and drastic, escalatingly calamitous steps are taken toward maintaining the status quo.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The upshot is the hedge funds faced a perfect storm and, as the crypto market slumped further this week, the value of their holdings declined until they got liquidated—forcing the mass sell-off of IBIT shares and a calamitous fall for Bitcoin.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
Despite a calamitous financial outlook, its share price has shown resiliency — soaring to an all-time high of almost $500 last month before falling back to around $422 this morning after the Q4 reveal.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for calamitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for calamitous
Adjective
-
Duke appeared to be too much for the Huskies, who went more than five minutes without scoring during a disastrous first-half stretch to fall behind, 44-25.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
-
And years later, when the group splintered into increasingly militant factions, some took part in a disastrous bank robbery that killed an innocent guard and two police officers—three men who were just doing their jobs that day, and who left behind their own kids, their own families.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Just days later, Duke suffered a devastating loss with a Final Four berth on the line.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The Pentagon is reportedly preparing for weeks of ground operations inside Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal, including a potentially devastating and dangerous mission to excavate uranium from the country.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That is the highest-level designation for severe accidents, placing it alongside the fatal Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) shuttle disasters in terms of gravity.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The cause of that fatal accident remains under investigation.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That house has a history of unfortunate events, including the fate of Cookie, an errant heiress and her pooch.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The start of 2026 has been a series of unfortunate events for Michelle Harris and her family.—
Monique John,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The team’s approach effectively enabled non-destructive quality control.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Indonesia’s meteorological agency lifted its tsunami warning hours after the quake, and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said there was no destructive threat to the country, which is north of the quake’s epicenter.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Much like with the newspaper industry, the internet has had a similar impact on radio stations, just not quite as catastrophic.—
Mac Engel
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Most notably — and most devastatingly — Woods was involved in a one-car rollover crash in Los Angeles in February 2021, which left him with catastrophic leg injuries.—
Megan Armstrong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Calamitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/calamitous. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
