desastre
disaster, catastrophe
noun deh-SAHS-treh Less Common
Origin: From Italian disastro, literally 'ill-starred' (dis- + astro, star).
Also means
mess, fiasco (informal)
Usage Note
Desastre covers both natural disasters (desastre natural) and colloquial fiascos ('the party was a disaster'). The adjective form is desastroso. In informal speech, calling a person un desastre means they are hopelessly disorganised or incompetent, not dangerous.
Examples
"El terremoto fue un desastre para la región."
Natural Translation
The earthquake was a disaster for the region.
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