different between disappointment vs catastrophe

English

Etymology

disappoint +? -ment

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d?s??p??ntm?nt/

Noun

disappointment (countable and uncountable, plural disappointments)

1. (uncountable) A feeling of sadness or frustration when a strongly held expectation is not met.
   • 1992, Today, News Group Newspapers Ltd

     Choking back his disappointment after his own team's splendid wins against Liverpool and Aston Villa, he said: "I've got to be humble and say we were beaten by a very good side."

2. (countable) A circumstance in which a strongly held expectation is not met.
   • 1990, Peter Hennessy, Cabinet, Basil Blackwell Ltd

     As the disappointments crowded in — the economy, Rhodesia, strife within the trade-union movement — Wilson tried the expedient of a semi-formal inner Cabinet, or Parliamentary Committee, as he misleadingly liked to call it.

3. (uncountable) A feeling of sadness or frustration when a negative unexpected event occurs.
4. (countable) That which causes feelings of disappointment.

Synonyms

• let-down
• setback

Related terms

• disappoint

Translations

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 (archaic) Superseded spelling of catastrofe.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).