catastrofe
catastrophe
noun kah-TAH-stroh-feh Less Common
Origin: from Greek katastrophe
Also means
disaster
Usage Note
Catastrofe is feminine and keeps stress on the second syllable, ca-TA-stro-fe. Beyond literal disasters it is used hyperbolically in daily speech, as in è stata una catastrofe! about any small fiasco.
Examples
"Il terremoto fu una vera catastrofe."
Natural Translation
The earthquake was a real catastrophe.
Literal Translation
The earthquake was a true catastrophe.
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