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Bad: "It was a catastrophe."

Good: "It was a "??????????."

I think "miracle" almost works, but has connotations I don't intend. What's a word for something that was an incredible success beyond expectation?

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    Etymologically, it would be an anastrophe. That doesn’t really work in any situation I can think of, though. Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 5:54
  • Here are some terms to contemplate: triumph, overwhelming victory, masterful stroke, jackpot, great perofrmance/maneuver/undertaking, hole in one, clean sweep, big hit, godsend and magnum opus. All have different connotations... Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 4:41
  • You have to tell us why you don't like "miracle"! Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 8:48

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Good: It was a marvel!!! (Also a wonder)

a thing or person that is very surprising or causes a lot of admiration.

(Collins)

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A blessing.

A beneficial thing that occurs that engenders a feeling of being a gift, something to be grateful for.

Lit. ‘a gift from God’.

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/blessing

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bonanza

A situation which creates a sudden increase in wealth, good fortune, or profits. ‘As one would expect, most state and local governments responded to this apparent bonanza by increasing spending.’ (Oxford's Lexico)

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There is no such word in English.

Since February, in writing and to friends, I've used "Panastrophe", unclear etymology, perhaps by analogy with "Panacea".

It originates in a tweet, where a person asked your same question, and received it as the answer. Unfortunately, I can't find it anymore. It was either deleted, or dreamed.

Examples in sentences:

  • People have this idea that, if only they changed one thing about their behavior, then therefore a panastrophe would happen. This is unreal panastrophic thinking.
  • Critical Success Factors is a concept similar to panastrophe.

The word here presented is a protologism.

Richard Fischer reported on words compiled by David Manheim and the Foresight Institute.

Eucatastrophe is the least bad, but I dislike all of them.

If you ask me, Eustrophe, Eutostrophe or Akostrophe make more etymological sense.

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    Hello, U59. While neologisms are fair game on ELU, protologisms are explicitly off-topic. //// Apparently, 'eucatastrophe', coined by Tolkien, is now recognised by at least ODE (courtesy of Google), Wiktionary ... and OED. Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 16:16
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Recently I was attempting a mock test in English language, and I got the very same question, requiring the opposite of catastrophe:

Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word:

  1. success
  2. nurture
  3. immaculate
  4. disaster

Solutions: [catastrophe: a sudden and widespresd disaster, calamity, tragedy]

(1) success: the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, achievement, triumph

(2) nurture [verb]: care for, and encourage the development/growth of; cultivate, foster [eg Wordsmyth]

I thought nurture would be the correct antonym as it means to make something/someone grow with care, while catastrophe is about destruction. But the given answer was success.

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  • You need the noun nurture, not the verb, as antonyms must be the same part of speech. But catastrophe does not refer at all to agency (the cause of the destruction), so 'nurture' (careful tending), referring to the procedures encouraging wellbeing, is not a suitable candidate for the antonym. It's rather the antonym of maltreat. 'Success' is the only candidate that is even a half-reasonable answer, but only fits when the disaster is a personal one, an accomplishment (flunking vs passing an exam, say) (not say a volcanic eruption or a hurricane). Commented Nov 21, 2024 at 16:19

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