desastre
nounCEFR B2
What does “desastre” mean in English?
disaster
disaster (a sudden event causing great harm or loss; desastre natural; fue un desastre total)
Example sentences
El desastre ecológico del vertido tardó décadas en ser reconocido oficialmente por las autoridades responsables.
The ecological disaster of the spill took decades to be officially recognised by the responsible authorities.
La gestión del desastre puso de manifiesto las profundas deficiencias del sistema de protección civil.
The management of the disaster revealed the deep deficiencies in the civil protection system.
Prevenir un desastre cuesta infinitamente menos que reparar sus consecuencias, pero la inversión preventiva nunca es popular.
Preventing a disaster costs infinitely less than repairing its consequences, but preventive investment is never popular.
How to use it
El desastre means 'disaster' — a sudden event causing great damage, loss, or distress. At B2 it covers both natural and human-made contexts: un desastre natural, un desastre ecológico/nuclear/humanitario, gestionar/prevenir un desastre. It also extends to the informal register (¡fue un desastre! = it was a disaster/shambles). Key collocations: las víctimas del desastre, un desastre sin precedentes, declarar el estado de emergencia tras un desastre. Distinguish from catástrofe (catastrophe — implies larger scale and often irreversibility) and tragedia (tragedy — emphasises human suffering and loss of life).
Common mistake
Desastre (disaster — sudden, acute, manageable in scope) vs catástrofe (catastrophe — suggests irreversible, civilisation-level impact) vs tragedia (tragedy — humanly focused: la tragedia de las víctimas). In informal use, ¡qué desastre! means 'what a mess/shambles' — not necessarily a major event. 'Natural disaster' = desastre natural (not *catástrofe natural in standard journalism, though both appear). The compound desastre humanitario is increasingly used for refugee crises.