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# Word of The Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/word-of-the-day-191/
- Published: 2024-07-23T18:15:13.000Z
- Updated: 2024-07-23T18:15:13.000Z
- Author: The Editor
- Tags: General

**Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2024 is:**

**catastrophe** • \\kuh-TASS-truh-fee\\ • *noun*  

A catastrophe is never a good thing. *Catastrophe* can refer to a momentous tragic event, an utter failure, a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth, or a violent usually destructive natural event.

// Despite her careful planning, the party turned out to be a *catastrophe*.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catastrophe?ref=goodoil.news)

**Examples:**  

"In the event of a major *catastrophe* like a hurricane, the agency would have a funding reserve set aside for initial response and recovery operations." — Ella Nilsen, *CNN*, 10 June 2024

**Did you know?**  

When *catastrophe* was borrowed from Greek in the 1500s it was a term for tearjerkers: the catastrophe was the conclusion or final event of a usually tragic dramatic work. (Greek *katastrophē*, which means the same thing, comes from *katastrephein*, meaning "to overturn.") From there, the word moved on to occupy other territory relating to tragic happenings, utter failures, and the worst sort of natural disasters. Just as *disaster* can range from a calamitous event to one that is merely unsuccessful, *catastrophe* can refer to what is truly devastating as well as to what is simply deeply disheartening. In *Henry IV, Part 2*, Shakespeare opted to steer the word away from disaster entirely and plant it squarely in the world of burlesque: "You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe!" May all our catastrophes be of such a comic variety.