(n.) Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals.
(n.) A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery.
Example Sentences:
(1) But if nothing changes, nothing will change, and these calamities will be with us once more.
(2) 18) Dallas Cowboys Last season: 8-8 Needs: Offensive line, safety, defensive tackle, running back Pick: Kenny Vaccaro, safety, Texas Tony Romo often carries the can for the Cowboys' offensive calamities, but the truth is that not many quarterbacks look great when they are running for their lives.
(3) They did not look like Stoke, exactly, they kept the ball on the floor a bit more than their opponents and did not go backwards quite so much, but in the first half at least there were two sides short of attacking ideas and genuine penetration and for either to score a goal it seemed likely a dead-ball routine or a defensive calamity would have to be involved.
(4) QPR appear to be on the verge of calamity at any point in defence.
(5) SJ Closs Edinburgh He is the Daffy Duck of politics – confident and self-satisfied, leading to calamity; then he pops up again, unabashed • As a fellow economist I fully endorse Larry Elliott’s demolition of Tory party assertions that all is well for the UK’s growing economy, and that Britain is paying its way ( The Tories’ ticking economic timebomb , 20 April).
(6) This system has now been refined to be used prospectively during the management stage of a calamity.
(7) Those who backed the wars in Iraq and Libya feel tainted by the bloodshed in the calamities that followed.
(8) US and Canadian oil policies, especially the tar sands schemes in Alberta, would increase the chances of global calamities, the imposters told their audience - but reassured them that the industry could keep "fuel flowing" by transforming the billions of people who died into oil.
(9) But they should be manageable and worth taking for the wider economic gains, notably averting what might have been an economic calamity.
(10) The community's children have been especially vulnerable to these calamities.
(11) The 2007 campaign was marked by dirty tricks charges against the Huhne camp by the man he (allegedly) dubbed "Calamity Clegg".
(12) I stand to appeal on behalf of the government and the people of Vanuatu that the global community give a lending hand in responding to these very current calamities that have struck us,” he said.
(13) The Crystal World is surely Ballard's most gorgeous calamity: apocalypse not as abolition but as transfiguration.
(14) By calculating the medical severity index, which is the product of the casualty load and the severity of the incident, and comparing this figure with the available total capacity of the medical services, which is the medical rescue capacity, the medical transport capacity and the hospital treatment capacity, the dispatcher at the control center can fairly quickly and precisely identify if a calamity is to be regarded as a disaster or not and if the region can cope with the situation.
(15) In Scotland, meanwhile, Labour has suffered a devastating calamity.
(16) But if the political will existed, calamity could be avoided with a fairly modest increase in the budget allocation .
(17) The disease that has brought these calamities to the pretty hills of Jinotega, in Nicaragua's central highlands, is new to most of the farmers I meet.
(18) Beckett, whose influence on Walsh is palpable, and Pinter would recognise that idea that beneath the surface of everyday life lays a gaping black hole: indeed Pinter from his youth frequently quoted a phrase of Cardinal Newman that creation is a vast "aboriginal calamity".
(19) Air brakes that would have prevented the disaster failed because they were powered by an engine that was shut down by firefighters as they dealt with a fire shortly before the calamity occurred, the head of the railway that operated the train said on Monday.
(20) The droughts will be far worse than the one in California – or those seen in ancient times, such as the calamity that led to the decline of the Anasazi civilizations in the 13 th century, the researchers said.
Setback
Definition:
(n.) Offset, n., 4.
(n.) A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy.
(n.) A backset; a check; a repulse; a reverse; a relapse.
Example Sentences:
(1) "We absolutely regret the setbacks Kim Dotcom has had since MegaUpload was taken offline, but we hope he as an entrepreneur will understand our side of the story and the decisions deliberately taken."
(2) But in a setback to the UK, Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, refused British entreaties to attend on the grounds that it would not have been treated as equal to the Somali government.
(3) While the setback should have little impact on AstraZeneca's future revenues and profits, investors and analysts are watching closely for any slip-up in its R&D efforts.
(4) Russia itself is weathering an economic setback triggered by low oil prices and sanctions.
(5) The operation to cool nuclear fuel rods and prevent further radiation leaks into the sea and atmosphere has suffered several setbacks.
(6) The immediate crisis facing Vedanta however, is the setback to its plans for expansion in the aluminium sector.
(7) Petr Cech's dislocated shoulder was a considerable setback and another followed in the second half when John Terry damaged an ankle.
(8) Ugandan and American troops have suspended their joint hunt for war crimes suspect Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army, delivering a major setback to efforts to capture a notorious warlord accused of abducting tens of thousands of children.
(9) Berlusconi could yet opt for house arrest, but for a man who continues to nurse great political ambitions despite recent setbacks , the logistical restrictions would perhaps prove unacceptable.
(10) Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said that the deal showed that Britain “has lost none of its allure to international investors”, but industry leaders warned it was a setback for the country.
(11) Despite the setbacks, many advocates still see deferred action as a starting point for advancing a more inclusive vision of immigration justice .
(12) He will come back from the setback, no doubt, but, at 28, he needs to make a move in higher circles pretty soon.
(13) There’s no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time.” The president put the onus on Iraqis to find a solution.
(14) This article tries to describe the problems, difficulties and setbacks experienced by patients, doctors, psychologists or social workers when looking for a public health insurance body competent to bear the cost, as well as for a vacancy in a suitable hospital or institution where appropriate therapy can be effected.
(15) The travel business is a game of big volumes and thin profit margins; it does not leave much room for setbacks.
(16) He never gives up.” It was a galling setback for QPR and for Ramsey it illustrated how frustratingly games can tilt in favour of the elite.
(17) As I have said many times before though, this kind of setback offers others the opportunity to step up to the plate, show everybody what they can do and make a real impact at this level.” The loss of Wilson is the latest significant injury suffered by a Bournemouth player.
(18) However, the "amyloid theory" has had some setbacks recently.
(19) But most economists – and the Russian government – expect food prices to rise, a setback for Russia's long-running struggle to tame inflation.
(20) Shell's hopes of drilling in Arctic waters off Alaska this summer face a serious setback after a US federal court ruled that the full range of environmental risks had not been assessed by the government.