ca·tas·tro·phe /kəˈtæstrə(ˌ)fi/
 大災難,大禍


 ca·tas·tro·phe /kəˈtæstrəfɪ/ 名詞
 突變,災禍,大變動,突變現象,失敗,毀壞,突變論


 catastrophe
 大事故


 Ca·tas·tro·phe n.
 1. An event producing a subversion of the order or system of things; a final event, usually of a calamitous or disastrous nature; hence, sudden calamity; great misfortune.
    The strange catastrophe of affairs now at London.   --Bp. Burnet.
    The most horrible and portentous catastrophe that nature ever yet saw.   --Woodward.
 2. The final event in a romance or a dramatic piece; a denouement, as a death in a tragedy, or a marriage in a comedy.
 3. Geol. A violent and widely extended change in the surface of the earth, as, an elevation or subsidence of some part of it, effected by internal causes.

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 catastrophe
      n 1: an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole
           city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the
           earthquake was a disaster" [syn: calamity, disaster,
            tragedy, cataclysm]
      2: a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and
         misfortune; "lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe
         for our school system"; "his policies were a disaster"
         [syn: disaster]
      3: a sudden violent change in the earth's surface [syn: cataclysm]