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

Parts of Australia will face catastrophic fire conditions on Friday, as heatwaves hit most of the country.

From BBC

Millions of Australians were Thursday warned to prepare for a stifling heatwave stoking the risk of "catastrophic" bushfires across swathes of the country.

From Barron's

Americans have seen this pattern before, and the consequences were catastrophic.

From Salon

For more than a decade, Tegmark’s organization, the Future of Life Institute, had been trying to raise the alarm that advanced AI could be catastrophic to humanity.

From The Wall Street Journal

Julie Sharman, chief operating officer of the Canal and River Trust, said engineers were still investigating the cause of the "catastrophic" failure.

From BBC

Related Words

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