catastrophic

[ kat-uh-strof-ik ]
See synonyms for catastrophic on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous event; calamitous: a catastrophic failure of the dam.

Origin of catastrophic

1
First recorded in 1820–30; from Greek katastrophikós, equivalent to catastroph(e) + -ic
  • Sometimes cat·a·stroph·i·cal, ca·tas·tro·phal [kuh-tas-truh-fuhl] /kəˈtæs trə fəl/ .

Other words from catastrophic

  • cat·a·stroph·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • non·cat·a·stroph·ic, adjective
  • non·cat·a·stroph·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • su·per·cat·a·stroph·ic, adjective
  • un·cat·a·stroph·ic, adjective
  • un·cat·a·stroph·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby catastrophic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use catastrophic in a sentence