View synonyms for catastrophic

catastrophic

[ kat-uh-strof-ik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous event; calamitous:
a catastrophic failure of the dam.

First recorded in 1820–30; from Greek katastrophikós, equivalent to catastroph(e) ( def ) + -ic ( def )

In the future, antibiotic resistance could have catastrophic consequences.

Most of them have insurance, and only a small percentage face catastrophic illness.

The result has been catastrophic for the poor and working poor.

TBIs can range anywhere from a mild concussion to catastrophic, fatal damage.

This is a catastrophic financial issue for everyone in the band,” Lee tells me, “and for just about all the musicians I know.

There was a sudden catastrophic whooshing roar and, wham, a tree took flame for roots.

Sometimes they dealt catastrophic blows to the center of Leptar's government and religion.

The Mosaic cosmogony is, in this sense, catastrophic, because it assumes the operation of extranatural power.

There was a spell, a hush over the world, to be broken by God-knew-what gentle awakening of activity, or catastrophic disturbance.

But this much I can say: the catastrophic results of that man's actions could not have been worse if he had been a saboteur.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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