disastrous
Americanadjective
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causing great distress or injury; ruinous; very unfortunate; calamitous.
The rain and cold proved disastrous to his health.
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Archaic. foreboding disaster.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disastrous
1580–90; < Middle French desastreux, Italian disastroso. See disaster, -ous
Explanation
Setting things on fire to see how fast they burn might seem like fun, but it can be disastrous. Something that's disastrous has terrible consequences. Any action that can cause serious damage is potentially disastrous, like driving too fast on an icy road or climbing a tree during a thunderstorm. You can also use the word disastrous to talk about something that's merely unsuccessful. You could have a disastrous first date, or a disastrous attempt to house-train your puppy. Disastrous comes from the French désastreux, "ill-starred" or "unlucky."
Vocabulary lists containing disastrous
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 6
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Fear and Loathing in Cleveland: Trump's RNC Acceptance Speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The next day, the City Journal, published by the influential and conservative Manhattan Institute, ran an opinion essay headlined “George Mason University’s Disastrous President.”
From Salon • Jul. 14, 2025
Disastrous, he adds, because "the US has notoriously terrible crime data".
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2024
Disastrous flooding struck areas across Nuristan in 2021.
From Scientific American • Apr. 26, 2023
Disastrous as it was, that event determined my lifelong devotion to the city.
From New York Times • Nov. 3, 2016
Disastrous terms are imposed on the crusaders, who evacuate Egypt.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06 (From Barbarossa to Dante) by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
