catastrophe
noun
- final resolution in a poem or narrative plot, which unravels the intrigue and brings the piece to a close
- a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kəˈtæstɹəfi/
noun
Etymology: From Ancient Greek καταστροφή (katastrophḗ), from καταστρέφω (katastréphō, “to overturn”), from κατά (katá, “down, against”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).
- Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
“The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophe.”
“Last night, after the brief sitting of the House of Lords, and before catastrophe befell the Government in the Commons, I had a long chat with the Premier, in which he discussed the Home Rule question and his relations with it in perfectly frank manner.”
- A disaster beyond expectations.
- The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement.
“Pat : he comes like the Cataſtrophe of the old Comedie : my Cue is villanous Melancholly, with a ſighe like Tom o’ Bedlam.”
- A type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states.