catastrophic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of catastrophic
First recorded in 1820–30; from Greek katastrophikós, equivalent to catastroph(e) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )
Explanation
Something catastrophic is very harmful or disastrous. When the stock market crashes, it’s a catastrophic event for investors. This is a strong word for terrible, harmful, devastating things. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis are catastrophic weather events. A depression is catastrophic for the economy. In sports, if the star player is injured, that's catastrophic for the team. If a parent dies, that's catastrophic for a family. Scientists worry that climate change will have a catastrophic effect on the planet. Catastrophic events are severe and horrific. Stubbing your toe isn’t catastrophic: losing your leg in an accident is.
Vocabulary lists containing catastrophic
Break It Down: Cata
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Vocabulary from the Second Presidential Debate: October 9, 2016
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Life As We Knew It
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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.
"We would describe... it as catastrophic," Patterson's appeal counsel, Edney, told Victoria's Court of Appeal this week.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
She also said there were still many "unanswered questions" about the strikes, including why, if the first strike on the convoy was "a catastrophic error", two further strikes followed just minutes apart.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Sometimes the fatalities resulted from catastrophic natural disasters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“It is a continuing pattern of catastrophic corporate failure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The possibility of a runaway greenhouse effect suggests that we have to be careful: Even a one- or two-degree rise in the global temperature can have catastrophic consequences.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
