megadisaster

megadisaster

English

Etymology

mega- +‎ disaster

Noun

megadisaster (plural megadisasters)

1. An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of exceptional magnitude, causing unusually severe or unprecedented damage.
   • 2012, Daniel P. Aldrich, Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-Disaster Recovery, University of Chicago Press (2012), →ISBN, page 75:

     This chapter uses case studies along with a new data set focused on Kobe's nine wards after the city's 1995 megadisaster, the earthquake known in Japanese as the Hanshin Awaji Daishinsai (the Great Hanshin—Awaji Earthquake), […]

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:megadisaster.
2. An unforeseen event of any kind with exceptionally unpleasant, distressing, or unfortunate results.
   • 2009, Andrew Attaway, Daily Guideposts 2009: A Spirit-Lifting Devotional, Guideposts (2008), →ISBN, page 311:

     After the initial shock of discovering my scheduling megadisaster, I forced myself to take a deep breath.

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:megadisaster.

Translations

all senses

French: mégadésastre (fr) m