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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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