What's the difference between blunder and disaster?

Blunder


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To make a gross error or mistake; as, to blunder in writing or preparing a medical prescription.
  • (v. i.) To move in an awkward, clumsy manner; to flounder and stumble.
  • (v. t.) To cause to blunder.
  • (v. t.) To do or treat in a blundering manner; to confuse.
  • (n.) Confusion; disturbance.
  • (n.) A gross error or mistake, resulting from carelessness, stupidity, or culpable ignorance.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The score should have been tied at 2-2 and the natural German retort that one of Geoff Hurst's goals in the 1966 World Cup was imaginary hardly makes the blunder of officials more palatable in Bloemfontein.
  • (2) The catalogue of blunders produced an angry response from congressmen in both parties who questioned the competence of Pierson, who was herself brought in to clean up the elite unit after earlier scandals in which drunken officers were found passed out during a presidential trip to Amsterdam and visiting prostitutes in Colombia.
  • (3) But it is not clear whether that will be enough to save McChrystal's job after what is the latest of a series of political blunders.
  • (4) Anthony King is professor of government at Essex University and co-author with Ivor Crewe of The Blunders of Our Governments, to be published next week
  • (5) From millions of BBC words, blunders and scandals are relatively few.
  • (6) That should mean, among other changes from Monday’s win at Hull , that Danny Welbeck returns up front even if Olivier Giroud relocated the net after a couple of months blundering about in the dark.
  • (7) But after David de Gea's blunder allowed Phil Bardsley's 119th-minute shot to slip in, Javier Hernández grabbed a lifeline with a strike seconds later to take the tie into the shootout.
  • (8) Blunders by hospital staff which leave newborn babies brain-damaged in the first few days of their lives are set to cost the NHS more than £235m, official figures reveal.
  • (9) A horrendous blunder by Mertesacker presents the ball to Aluko, who goes around Fabianksi.
  • (10) Results indicated an effect of sex identification; the male blunderer was derogated most by male subjects (n = 34) and the female most by female subjects (n = 34).
  • (11) The Obama administration on Monday approved Shell’s plan to resume drilling for oil and gas in the treacherous and fragile waters off the coast of Alaska , three years after the Anglo-Dutch oil giant was forced to suspend operations following a series of potentially dangerous blunders.
  • (12) They've conceded only one goal due to a goalie blunder (against admittedly limited opposition) and not lost.
  • (13) "In a post-Fukushima environment where nuclear planning is being halted in Germany and Japan it seems bizarre that the (UK) government is blundering ahead with disposing of nuclear waste in the most absurdly inappropriate place," she said.
  • (14) The plot of Emma turns on Frank Churchill's "blunder" in mentioning the likelihood of Mr Perry, the local apothecary, "setting up his carriage".
  • (15) A brief inquest a year later did not expose the hospital's blunder.
  • (16) The sport’s global governing body has admitted that Joubert blundered by awarding the Wallabies the last-gasp penalty that Bernard Foley kicked to seize a 35-34 victory at Twickenham on Sunday, robbing Scotland of a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
  • (17) Inevitably the commentators (and so far in my researches, they were all women) pondered on Lawson's motivation, and whether this decision was a style blunder, a "betrayal of her own brand", or a defiant and admirable insistence on privacy for her body.
  • (18) It's hard to watch these executions and not realise that these blunders are bound to happen,” he said.
  • (19) In a front-page comment piece, Aluf Benn, the editor-in-chief of Haaretz, wrote: "Instead of hushing up the blunder, [gag orders] merely shine a spotlight on it.
  • (20) He’s not in power yet, so he still gets to blunder around lobbing out daft policies willy-nilly in the hope that one of them will scan.

Disaster


Definition:

  • (n.) An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent.
  • (n.) An adverse or unfortunate event, esp. a sudden and extraordinary misfortune; a calamity; a serious mishap.
  • (v. t.) To blast by the influence of a baleful star.
  • (v. t.) To bring harm upon; to injure.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Following mass disasters and individual deaths, dentists with special training and experience in forensic odontology are frequently called upon to assist in the identification of badly mutilated or decomposed bodies.
  • (2) Crown prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz said yesterday that the state had "spared no effort" to avoid such disasters but added that "it cannot stop what God has preordained.
  • (3) Documents seen by the Guardian show that blood supplies for one fiscal year were paid for by donations from America’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) – and both countries have imposed economic sanctions against the Syrian government.
  • (4) Travel around Fukushima today and there is little evidence of disaster or trauma.
  • (5) In the UK, George Osborne used this to his advantage, claiming "Britain faces the disaster of having its international credit rating downgraded" even after Moody's ranked UK debt as "resilient".
  • (6) Sometimes it can seem as if the history of the City is the history of its crises and disasters, from the banking crisis of 1825 (which saw undercapitalised banks collapse – perhaps the closest historic parallel to the contemporary credit crunch), through the Spanish panic of 1835, the railway bust of 1837, the crash of Overend Gurney, the Kaffir boom, the Westralian boom, the Marconi scandal, and so on and on – a theme with endless variations.
  • (7) Dealers speculated that Facebook's army of bankers had stepped in to stop the shares falling below $38, a move that would have landed the social network with a public relations disaster on its first day as a public company.
  • (8) "If it hadn't been for the nuclear disaster, we would never have given this project a second thought."
  • (9) This could spell disaster for small farmers, says Million Belay, co-ordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa.
  • (10) Simply lengthening the working age bracket is a potential disaster, unless the inequalities at the heart of the policy are addressed in a detailed and sensible way and we achieve full employment.
  • (11) The accident on 10 April 2010, killed the president, first lady and dozens of senior officials, in the worst Polish air disaster since the second world war.
  • (12) Beijing says the island outposts will serve maritime search and rescue missions, disaster relief, environmental protection as well as undefined military purposes.
  • (13) Wanchu Sherpa, chairman of Everest Summitteers Association of Nepal and two time summiteer himself, told the Guardian shortly after the accident that “nothing can be done to prevent such events” which he described as “simply natural disasters that are unavoidable”.
  • (14) Matteo Renzi, the Italian leader who has argued it would be a disaster if Britain left the EU, suggested defensiveness about freedom of movement led to nowhere apart from opening the door to “right-wing xenophobia and nationalism” in Europe .
  • (15) "Machineless" NH suggests the possibility of machineless CAVHD, which could provide dialysis and parenteral nutrition to many acute renal failure patients after a major disaster.
  • (16) Families fear that after April’s disaster the cycle of poverty in the region will be intensified.
  • (17) Salem County (NJ) Memorial Hospital cooperated in an areawide disaster drill and found that it took large doses of planning and cooperation to coordinate the effort.
  • (18) A chronology of the disaster, involving two helicopter crashes which left 11 dead, is presented.
  • (19) But even away from this disaster, facts about the industry's cost and scope to meet Europe's energy needs should be enough to give nuclear supporters pause.
  • (20) It cannot be established whether or not seasickness contributed to the cause of death in the case of the Ocean Ranger victims, but it did occur in 75% or more of TEMPSC occupants in the other four rig disasters.