— catastrophic /kat'euh strof"ik/ , catastrophical, catastrophal , adj. — catastrophically , adv.
/keuh tas"treuh fee/ , n.
1. a sudden and widespread disaster: the catastrophe of war.
2. any misfortune, mishap, or failure; fiasco: The play was so poor our whole evening was a catastrophe.
3. a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunate one; a disastrous end: the great catastrophe of the Old South at Appomattox.
4. (in a drama) the point at which the circumstances overcome the central motive, introducing the close or conclusion; dénouement. Cf. catastasis, epitasis, protasis .
5. Geol. a sudden, violent disturbance, esp. of a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
6. Also called catastrophe function . Math. any of the mathematical functions that describe the discontinuities that are treated in catastrophe theory.
[ 1570-80; katastrophé an overturning, akin to katastréphein to overturn. See CATA-, STROPHE ]
Syn. 1. misfortune, calamity. 1, 3 . See disaster .
Ant. 1, 3. triumph.