drastic
Americanadjective
-
extremely severe or extensive.
a drastic tax-reduction measure.
-
(of medicines) acting with force or violence.
a drastic laxative.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of drastic
First recorded in 1685–95; from Greek drastikós “active,” equivalent to drast(ós) (verbal adjective of drân “to do”) + -ikos adjective suffix ( see -ic)
Explanation
Something that is drastic is violent, forceful, and extreme. If you are saving for a car and you only have $50, you need to make a drastic change to your money accumulation scheme. The word drastic comes from the Greek word for effective, but we use it to mean incredibly effective. If you want a drastic makeover, get rid of all your clothes, change your hair completely, and pick up a new way of speaking. Sometimes drastic action goes too far and so has bad consequences. A bankrupt company might make a drastic decision to fire the management without figuring out how to manage itself in the future.
Vocabulary lists containing drastic
"Sorry, Wrong Number," Vocabulary from the play
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Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Catching Fire
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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.
It is taboo in China to crack jokes about Mao, who died in 1976 and whose drastic policies are blamed by historians for mass starvation and millions of deaths.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
Valve is taking an even more drastic step, phasing out its physical Steam gift cards, likely by the end of this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
They told the court that his drastic reaction was not because of any wrongdoing, but because of the fear of "trial by media".
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
His struggles have reached the point that the Dodgers even considered benching him on Wednesday, though they ultimately decided against making such a drastic move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I didn’t think the date would go like this; I thought it would all be Noelle yelling at me and I’d have to do something drastic.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
