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 restrictions on cross-country travel took effect Thursday in cash-strapped Cuba, with spaces on ever scarcer trains and buses now reserved for the sick, people traveling for funerals and other emergencies.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Appeared in the June 11, 2026, print edition as 'OpenAI Weighs Drastic Price Cuts'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
The Leadmill gig will coincide with the release of the band's record, Drastic Symphonies, on 19 May.
From BBC • May 3, 2023
Drastic infield shifts have become so common across the majors over the last decade that it’s been more noteworthy when an infield doesn’t shift.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 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.
