disaster
part of speech
noun (disaster, disasters)
meaning for a pupil
1) A disaster is a terrible event that causes a lot of damage, suffering or death, like an earthquake, flood or big crash. tree →
2) A disaster is something that goes very badly or fails completely. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: Job says disaster is the fitting fate for evildoers. The tradition often reads suffering as linked to wrongdoing, though the Book of Job questions this idea. In the primary lessons: In geography and science, natural disasters include floods, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and tsunamis; families make emergency plans for them. In everyday life, a burnt cake or a wrong costume can be «a disaster» in a joking way. Phrases: «natural disaster», «a total disaster», «end in disaster», «disaster area».
examples
- Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity? (Writings JOB.31.3, JPS 1917) tree →
- The flood was a natural disaster for the whole town. tree →
- Our first try at the cake was a disaster. tree →
- The trip ended in disaster when the bus broke down. tree →
- People gave money to help the disaster victims. tree →
- Know your family's plan in case of a disaster. tree →
- The play was nearly a disaster, but we saved it. tree →
- Scientists study earthquakes to prevent disasters. tree →
- False confidence often leads to disaster. tree →
note
Countable: «a disaster», «disasters». Adjective: «disastrous» (no «e» before r). Exaggeration: in everyday talk people call small problems «a disaster»; in news it means real harm. In maths problems it may come with numbers of people helped, money raised or houses damaged.
In the corpora
- Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
- That is not a disaster; pretending is.
- Live shows often have small disasters, so teams keep safety pins, tape and spare costumes ready.
- Water on burning oil is a disaster.
- The first week had its disasters.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «disaster» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.