different between rebuff vs catastrophe

English

Etymology 1

From Middle French rebuffer (compare French rebiffer).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???b?f/
• Rhymes: -?f

Noun

rebuff (plural rebuffs)

1. A sudden resistance or refusal.

   He was surprised by her quick rebuff to his proposal.

2. Repercussion, or beating back.

Translations

Verb

rebuff (third-person singular simple present rebuffs, present participle rebuffing, simple past and past participle rebuffed)

1. To refuse; to offer sudden or harsh resistance; to turn down or shut out.

Translations

Etymology 2

re- +? buff

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?i??b?f/

Verb

rebuff (third-person singular simple present rebuffs, present participle rebuffing, simple past and past participle rebuffed)

1. (transitive) To buff again.

Anagrams

• buffer

English

Alternative forms

• catastrophë (now rare)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????????? (katastroph?), from ?????????? (katastréph?, “I overturn”), from ???? (katá, “down, against”) + ?????? (stréph?, “I turn”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /k??tæst??fi/
• Hyphenation: ca?tas?tro?phe

Noun

catastrophe (plural catastrophes)

1. any large and disastrous event of great significance
2. (insurance) a disaster beyond expectations
3. (narratology) the dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement
4. (mathematics) a type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Dutch

Noun

catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)

1. (archaic) Superseded spelling of catastrofe.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin catastropha, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ?????????? (katastroph?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.tas.t??f/

Noun

catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)

1. catastrophe

Synonyms

• cata (informal)
• désastre

Derived terms

• en catastrophe

Verb

catastrophe

1. first-person singular present indicative of catastropher
2. third-person singular present indicative of catastropher
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
5. second-person singular imperative of catastropher

Further reading

• “catastrophe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).