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.
Drastic changes were needed, he said, including new leaders who would focus on strengthening the outlet’s journalism to become indispensable to more readers.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2024
The Leadmill gig will coincide with the release of the band's record, Drastic Symphonies, on 19 May.
From BBC • May 3, 2023
Drastic steps will be needed to produce the consistent annual declines required to reach that goal, said Frances Seymour, a senior fellow at the institute.
From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2022
Drastic infection surges among the inoculated from the United States to Russia have revealed the vaccine’s declining defenses against infection even as its protection against hospitalization and death remains strong.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 26, 2022
His parents gave him a fifty-dollar gift certificate to Drastic Plastic, the punk rock record store downtown.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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.
