I. kəˈtastrə(ˌ)fē, -aas-, -ais- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Greek katastrophē, from katastrephein to overturn, from kata- cata- + strephein to turn — more at strophe
1.
a. : the final action that completes the unraveling of the plot in a play, especially a tragedy : denouement
pat he comes like the catastrophe of the old comedy — Shakespeare
the need for some element of reconciliation in a tragic catastrophe — A.C.Bradley
b. : a similar action in a novel or story
the novel's catastrophe did not occur until the closing scene
2. : a momentous tragic usually sudden event marked by effects ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin : disaster
the catastrophe of war
what catastrophe had overwhelmed them — Willa Cather
3. Scotland : broken pieces (as of china) — usually used in plural
4. : a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth — compare catastrophism 1
5. : utter failure : fiasco
monuments, most of them artistic catastrophes — Robert O'Brien
6. : death (as from an inexplicable cause) before, during, or after an operation
Synonyms: see disaster
II. noun
: a violent usually destructive natural event (as a supernova)