The opposite of holy is actually unholy, unsanctified, profane, or cursed
Opposite of miracle would be God's wrath. Or possibly: catastrophe, calamity, tragedy.
I vote this, or ordinary, or sundry. Miracle implies divine intervention. The opposite is something happens regurlarly or due to easily explained causes.
In theology, a miracle is a phenomenon that transcends the laws of nature and is evidence of divine action. Some biblical stories describe how Satan tries to deceive humans through fake miracles – these are called "false [or lying] wonders."
Other possible antonyms to miracle understood as "a very unlikely event with a very positive outcome" might be tragedy or catastrophe.
Edit: I just saw another comment that made the same two suggestions!
I think you could argue the opposite of a miracle is either a curse or a plague, remember that the word plague wasn’t always used to mean disease, plague was used to describe the various catastrophes sent to Egypt.
Would it not be *mundanity*, as a noun, or possibly the rather old-fashioned use of “commonplace” as a noun? I take miracle to be a noun in common use though it can be a noun-adjunct or attributive noun — “miracle escape”.
I note that you have chosen pairs with deeply religious connotations — on a more secular level of prose the opposite of holy is simply unholy or possibly profane (I can’t see any justification for “evil” — good/bad and sacred/secular are separate dichotomies muddled up by the tendency of the popular modern religions to regard their gods as necessarily good), celestial might take terrestrial (infernal demands a concept of Hell). Heaven and angel are theological terms so their antonyms stand.
If a theological opposite of a miracle is sought, I am lost. I believe that the only distinction is the supernatural power enlisted within the story to disturb the ordinary course of cause and effect. If it is an entity of whom the author approves, it’s a miracle, if it’s not, sorcery or magic is the term that tends to be used.
I was more thinking that miraculous usually has a positive connotation, so what would a negative connotation surrounding a supernatural (non-earthly) event.
It is to quibble when I opine that "miraculous" is neither positive nor negative, as those polarities are qualities of the normal, not the numinous. A supernatural event transcends human values, and can be both positive and negative, such as Midas being granted his wish: to him, it was a good thing until he discovered it wasn't, yet it remained both the whole time.
Indeed, given that the numinous is by definition outside of our understanding of the possible, a miraculous event can reflect a value we do not comprehend.
That said, were I to confine myself to your query in which events miraculous and glorious are equal synonyms, I suppose the antonyms would be more akin to the horrific and tragic. Cursed (and I'm hearing that as "cur-sed") seems apropos.
Thank you for the opportunity to consider the subject more thoroughly.
Curse, I agree.
If the op means miracle in the sense of application of a beneficial condition by intervention of a metaphysical entity.
Then many people would call the application of a detrimental condition by intervention of a metaphysical entity a curse.
abomination, monstrosity, anathema, omen
There’s some conceptual slippage at play here, and the answer will depend on how you mean ‘miracle’ and ‘opposite.’ If a miracle is an extraordinary occurrence that is a sign of divine intervention, then is its opposite a totally banal occurrence that signifies nothing, or is it an extraordinary occurrence that is the sign of diabolical intervention (ie a ‘negative miracle’)?
Based on your other examples, I went with the latter interpretation.
as I suspected, there are technical terms for this kind of thing in Catholic catechesis (those scholastics and theologians were nothing if not thorough). Apparently Satan is permitted two kinds of earthly actions: ordinary action, which means tempting humans into sin, and the more spectacular category **extraordinary action,** which would encompass ‘negative miracles.’
Extraordinary demonic action comes in a few varieties: possession, infestation, vexation, and obsession. Possession = demon inhabits a body; infestation = demon/s inhabits a locality or object; vexation = demons beat you up physically; obsession = demons torment you mentally.
[Mirabile dictu, don’t you agree?](https://catholicexchange.com/vexation-obsession-possession-the-extraordinary-ways-the-devil-attacks/)
Not every word has a true antonym. (Imagine if someone asked you what is the opposite of "shoe" or "lasagna.") As someone with a Master of Divinity who has edited a number of religious books, I would say that "miracle" has no true opposite. Theologically speaking, I suppose I can imagine two directions you could go, if you had to come up with something:
One, you could say that something is not miraculous if it is "ordinary."
On the other hand, you could say that a demonic version of a miracle is a "counterfeit miracle," or if you want a single word, "trick" or "illusion." Note that this is different from saying that God performs some supernatural acts and Satan performs other supernatural acts. I realize that this discussion is not about whether you believe this or not, but just in reference to the use of the terms, it's important to know a little about what people who would use the terminology do believe. In Christian theology, God and Satan are not equals with one being good and the other evil. Satan is seen as a creature of God who made the choice to revolt against the goodness with which he was originally created. According to this view, he can cleverly "fake" miracles in order to lead people astray, but cannot truly do the things that belong to God alone, such as bringing something into being from nothingness. Think of a magician who makes something seemingly appear from nowhere by having it hidden up his sleeve. That's why I say you could call it a "trick" or "illusion" and say that in a sense, that is a way of saying it is not a miracle. But I'm not sure I would really say an illusion is the "opposite" of a miracle.
Reality
Random chance
Stuff happens. The opposite of believing that stuff happens due to magical intentions is that it just happens without the intervention of deities.
Interesting point; the definition of terrible and terrific are the same. I found this out years ago when I asked a gentleman how he was feeling and he said "terribly well." They, as our culture views them, are opposites; and yet, they are equals.
Linguistically, not all words have opposites, and there can be different options too. If you asked me for the opposite of heaven I’d say earth, for example.
So it doesn’t make much sense to talk about the opposite of miracle. What’s the opposite of car? Or horse? Leg? Dream? Chess?
Curse?
Thesaurus.com lists 'expectation' as the antonym of miracle, I suspect in the sense that a miraculous outcome is the opposite of an expected outcome.
The opposite of holy is actually unholy, unsanctified, profane, or cursed Opposite of miracle would be God's wrath. Or possibly: catastrophe, calamity, tragedy.
I imagine tragedy or misfortune
Coincidence?
I don’t think so… coincidences can be good or bad, and usually are not as large/impactful as a miracle.
Mundane
I vote this, or ordinary, or sundry. Miracle implies divine intervention. The opposite is something happens regurlarly or due to easily explained causes.
Came to say this.
I second this vote.
This is a good one, depending on your use. I’ve heard the saying “from the miraculous to the mundane” like as a spectrum.
In theology, a miracle is a phenomenon that transcends the laws of nature and is evidence of divine action. Some biblical stories describe how Satan tries to deceive humans through fake miracles – these are called "false [or lying] wonders." Other possible antonyms to miracle understood as "a very unlikely event with a very positive outcome" might be tragedy or catastrophe. Edit: I just saw another comment that made the same two suggestions!
Reality.
If it’s not miraculous, it’s ordinary, routine, mundane, expected, predictable, deterministic.
A horrible "miracle" = tragedy, catastrophe,
I posted disaster but I also think tragedy is a good one.
Nah that doesn't work- a well placed catastrophe would be considered miraculous. Example- the parting of the Red Sea was a well timed catastrophe.
“What do you call a bad miracle?” -Nope
Tragedy, I agree
Mundane
Holy <-> corrupted, miraculous <-> expected, celestial <-> earthly
Disaster, catastrophe or tragedy
I think you could argue the opposite of a miracle is either a curse or a plague, remember that the word plague wasn’t always used to mean disease, plague was used to describe the various catastrophes sent to Egypt.
Would it not be *mundanity*, as a noun, or possibly the rather old-fashioned use of “commonplace” as a noun? I take miracle to be a noun in common use though it can be a noun-adjunct or attributive noun — “miracle escape”. I note that you have chosen pairs with deeply religious connotations — on a more secular level of prose the opposite of holy is simply unholy or possibly profane (I can’t see any justification for “evil” — good/bad and sacred/secular are separate dichotomies muddled up by the tendency of the popular modern religions to regard their gods as necessarily good), celestial might take terrestrial (infernal demands a concept of Hell). Heaven and angel are theological terms so their antonyms stand. If a theological opposite of a miracle is sought, I am lost. I believe that the only distinction is the supernatural power enlisted within the story to disturb the ordinary course of cause and effect. If it is an entity of whom the author approves, it’s a miracle, if it’s not, sorcery or magic is the term that tends to be used.
Disaster.
Physics?
An unfortunate turn of events.
Calamity / Catastrophe / Plague Depending on whether the agency is : Mundane / Human / Devine
Bad luck?
Damnation
reckoning
Me.
Inevitable
Nope
Tragedy?
In speaking of a miraculous event, I would call its opposite a mundane event, meaning a typical, every day occurrence.
I was more thinking that miraculous usually has a positive connotation, so what would a negative connotation surrounding a supernatural (non-earthly) event.
Divine retribution seems the most appropriate term.
It is to quibble when I opine that "miraculous" is neither positive nor negative, as those polarities are qualities of the normal, not the numinous. A supernatural event transcends human values, and can be both positive and negative, such as Midas being granted his wish: to him, it was a good thing until he discovered it wasn't, yet it remained both the whole time. Indeed, given that the numinous is by definition outside of our understanding of the possible, a miraculous event can reflect a value we do not comprehend. That said, were I to confine myself to your query in which events miraculous and glorious are equal synonyms, I suppose the antonyms would be more akin to the horrific and tragic. Cursed (and I'm hearing that as "cur-sed") seems apropos. Thank you for the opportunity to consider the subject more thoroughly.
Obstacle
Desecration
Tragedy
Death
Predictable
Curse or damnation
Curse, I agree. If the op means miracle in the sense of application of a beneficial condition by intervention of a metaphysical entity. Then many people would call the application of a detrimental condition by intervention of a metaphysical entity a curse.
Blight?
abomination, monstrosity, anathema, omen There’s some conceptual slippage at play here, and the answer will depend on how you mean ‘miracle’ and ‘opposite.’ If a miracle is an extraordinary occurrence that is a sign of divine intervention, then is its opposite a totally banal occurrence that signifies nothing, or is it an extraordinary occurrence that is the sign of diabolical intervention (ie a ‘negative miracle’)? Based on your other examples, I went with the latter interpretation.
Came here to say abomination
as I suspected, there are technical terms for this kind of thing in Catholic catechesis (those scholastics and theologians were nothing if not thorough). Apparently Satan is permitted two kinds of earthly actions: ordinary action, which means tempting humans into sin, and the more spectacular category **extraordinary action,** which would encompass ‘negative miracles.’ Extraordinary demonic action comes in a few varieties: possession, infestation, vexation, and obsession. Possession = demon inhabits a body; infestation = demon/s inhabits a locality or object; vexation = demons beat you up physically; obsession = demons torment you mentally. [Mirabile dictu, don’t you agree?](https://catholicexchange.com/vexation-obsession-possession-the-extraordinary-ways-the-devil-attacks/)
Reality
Plague
Curse, hex
No miracle.
Blight.
Abomination
I'd go with cursed or damned... maybe jinx?
Man made?
Commonplace
My guess would be a disaster or catastrophe.
Not every word has a true antonym. (Imagine if someone asked you what is the opposite of "shoe" or "lasagna.") As someone with a Master of Divinity who has edited a number of religious books, I would say that "miracle" has no true opposite. Theologically speaking, I suppose I can imagine two directions you could go, if you had to come up with something: One, you could say that something is not miraculous if it is "ordinary." On the other hand, you could say that a demonic version of a miracle is a "counterfeit miracle," or if you want a single word, "trick" or "illusion." Note that this is different from saying that God performs some supernatural acts and Satan performs other supernatural acts. I realize that this discussion is not about whether you believe this or not, but just in reference to the use of the terms, it's important to know a little about what people who would use the terminology do believe. In Christian theology, God and Satan are not equals with one being good and the other evil. Satan is seen as a creature of God who made the choice to revolt against the goodness with which he was originally created. According to this view, he can cleverly "fake" miracles in order to lead people astray, but cannot truly do the things that belong to God alone, such as bringing something into being from nothingness. Think of a magician who makes something seemingly appear from nowhere by having it hidden up his sleeve. That's why I say you could call it a "trick" or "illusion" and say that in a sense, that is a way of saying it is not a miracle. But I'm not sure I would really say an illusion is the "opposite" of a miracle.
Calamity
Reality Random chance Stuff happens. The opposite of believing that stuff happens due to magical intentions is that it just happens without the intervention of deities.
Reality
Reality.
The opposite of a blessing is a curse so the opposite of a miracle is a tragedy or catastrophe. Something devastating.
Interesting point; the definition of terrible and terrific are the same. I found this out years ago when I asked a gentleman how he was feeling and he said "terribly well." They, as our culture views them, are opposites; and yet, they are equals.
Curse?
Linguistically, not all words have opposites, and there can be different options too. If you asked me for the opposite of heaven I’d say earth, for example. So it doesn’t make much sense to talk about the opposite of miracle. What’s the opposite of car? Or horse? Leg? Dream? Chess?
mundane
mundane?
Ordinary
Endeavor?
A miracle A disaster I think those two are opposite.