catastrophic
[kat-uh-strof-ik]
- of the nature of a catastrophe, or disastrous event; calamitous: a catastrophic failure of the dam.
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Sometimes cat·a·stroph·i·cal, ca·tas·tro·phal [kuh-tas-truh-fuh l] /kəˈtæs trə fəl/.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for catastrophic
Contemporary Examples
In the future, antibiotic resistance could have catastrophic consequences.
Without Education, Antibiotic Resistance Will Be Our Greatest Health CrisisRussell Saunders
December 19, 2014
The result has been catastrophic for the poor and working poor.
TBIs can range anywhere from a mild concussion to catastrophic, fatal damage.
This is a catastrophic financial issue for everyone in the band,” Lee tells me, “and for just about all the musicians I know.
The potential economic consequences that could arise from a travel ban on West Africa, says Eisenbarth, could be catastrophic.
Historical Examples
Hers was the most complete loneliness, charged with a catastrophic tension.
The RescueJoseph Conrad
The result was just as instantaneous and just as catastrophic as Garlock had expected.
The Galaxy PrimesEdward Elmer Smith
Almost all social prediction is catastrophic and absurdly simplified.
A Preface to PoliticsWalter Lippmann
The "love of women" has always about it something tragic and catastrophic.
Suspended JudgmentsJohn Cowper Powys
To Louise, the loss of her holy place, but yet more the manner of its loss, was catastrophic.
Regiment of WomenClemence Dane
Word Origin and History for catastrophic
adj.
1824, from catastrophe + -ic. Related: Catastrophical; catastrophically.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper