different between catastrophe vs upheaval

English

Alternative forms

• catastrophë (now rare)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????????? (katastroph?), from ?????????? (katastréph?, “I overturn”), from ???? (katá, “down, against”) + ?????? (stréph?, “I turn”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /k??tæst??fi/
• Hyphenation: ca?tas?tro?phe

Noun

catastrophe (plural catastrophes)

1. any large and disastrous event of great significance
2. (insurance) a disaster beyond expectations
3. (narratology) the dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement
4. (mathematics) a type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Dutch

Noun

catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)

1. (archaic) Superseded spelling of catastrofe.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin catastropha, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ?????????? (katastroph?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.tas.t??f/

Noun

catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)

1. catastrophe

Synonyms

• cata (informal)
• désastre

Derived terms

• en catastrophe

Verb

catastrophe

1. first-person singular present indicative of catastropher
2. third-person singular present indicative of catastropher
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
5. second-person singular imperative of catastropher

Further reading

• “catastrophe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From upheave +? -al.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?hi.v?l/
• Hyphenation: up?heav?al

Noun

upheaval (countable and uncountable, plural upheavals)

1. change, from one state to another
2. The process of being heaved upward, especially the raising of part of the earth's crust.
3. A sudden violent upset, disruption or convulsion.

Synonyms

• seismic shift

Translations