Meaning
disaster, calamity
In a sentence
La sciagura ferroviaria ha sconvolto l'intero paese.
The train disaster shocked the whole country.
Quell'incendio fu una vera sciagura per la comunità.
That fire was a real disaster for the community.
Per fortuna non è stata una sciagura.
Luckily, it wasn't a disaster.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| sciagura | feminine · singular |
| sciagure | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Stronger and more literary than disastro; often used in news, formal writing, or dramatic speech.
- Can also describe a person humorously: Che sciagura! = What a disaster! Don't assume it only refers to events.
- Common with verbs like essere, diventare, causare, evitare. Less often used in casual everyday speech than disastro.