catastrophic

American  

[kat-uh-strof-ik] / ˌkæt əˈstrɒf ɪk /

Sometimes catastrophical,

adjective

1. of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous event; calamitous.

   a catastrophic failure of the dam.

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Other Word Forms

• catastrophically adverb
• noncatastrophic adjective
• noncatastrophically adverb
• supercatastrophic adjective
• uncatastrophic adjective
• uncatastrophically adverb

Etymology

Origin of catastrophic

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

Example Sentences

As a housemate, he was catastrophic—overturning wastebaskets, ransacking drawers and drenching manuscripts.

From The Wall Street Journal

The death toll is even higher in France and Spain, where many of the seabird populations that breed in the UK spend the winter, raising fears of catastrophic seabird "wreck".

From BBC

"A war with Iran would be catastrophic," Khanna posted on social media.

From BBC

“I’m hesitant to use words like catastrophic, but it probably would be catastrophic,” says Tapio Schneider, a professor at the California Institute of Technology.

From The Wall Street Journal

As with the regulatory approach, investors and executives are insulated from catastrophic losses through explicit or implicit government protection.

From Barron's

Related Words

• calamitous
• cataclysmic
• disastrous
• fatal
• ruinous
• tragic