different between wretchedness vs disaster

English

Etymology

wretched +? -ness

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???t??dn?s/
• Hyphenation: wretch?ed?ness

Noun

wretchedness (usually uncountable, plural wretchednesses)

1. An unhappy state of mental or physical suffering.
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 3

     She saw only that he was quiet and unobtrusive, and she liked him for it. He did not disturb the wretchedness of her mind by ill-timed conversation.

2. A state of prolonged misfortune, privation, or anguish.

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• disastre (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle French desastre, from Italian disastro, from dis- + astro (“star”), from Latin astrum (“star”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (ástron, “star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?st?r.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /d??zæs.t?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d??z??s.t?(?)/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /d??zæs.t?/
• Rhymes: -??st?(?), -æst?(?)

Noun

disaster (countable and uncountable, plural disasters)

1. An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent change to the natural environment.
2. An unforeseen event causing great loss, upset or unpleasantness of whatever kind.
   • 2003, The Devil Wears Prada

     A nod means good, two nods; very good. And then there's the pursing of the lips: disaster.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:disaster

Derived terms

• natural disaster

Translations

Anagrams

• TARDISes, Tardises, diasters, disastre, disrates, restiads, tardises