Perfect Storm

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

A situation in which several independent negative factors converge simultaneously, producing a result far worse — or far more complex — than any one factor would have caused alone; used to describe the emergence of crisis from multiple interacting pressures

History and origin

From Sebastian Junger's 1997 book 'The Perfect Storm', describing the 1991 storm off Nova Scotia formed by the convergence of three weather systems; the phrase entered wide figurative use from the early 2000s

Examples

• The financial crisis of 2008 was described as a perfect storm of deregulation, loose credit, and global imbalances.
• A perfect storm of drought, supply chain disruption, and rising fuel costs drove food prices to record highs.

Synonyms: confluence of factors, the worst of all worlds, convergence of crises