[ca.tas.tro.phe] n [Gk katastrophe, fr. katastrephein to overturn, fr. kata- + strephein to turn] (1540) 1: the final event of the dramatic action esp. of a tragedy
2: a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin 3 a: a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth b: a violent usu. destructive natural event (as a supernova)
4: utter failure: fiasco -- cat.a.stroph.ic adj -- cat.a.stroph.i.cal.ly adv