disastrous
Americanadjective
-
causing great distress or injury; ruinous; very unfortunate; calamitous.
The rain and cold proved disastrous to his health.
-
Archaic. foreboding disaster.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disastrous
1580–90; < Middle French desastreux, Italian disastroso. See disaster, -ous
Explanation
Setting things on fire to see how fast they burn might seem like fun, but it can be disastrous. Something that's disastrous has terrible consequences. Any action that can cause serious damage is potentially disastrous, like driving too fast on an icy road or climbing a tree during a thunderstorm. You can also use the word disastrous to talk about something that's merely unsuccessful. You could have a disastrous first date, or a disastrous attempt to house-train your puppy. Disastrous comes from the French désastreux, "ill-starred" or "unlucky."
Vocabulary lists containing disastrous
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 6
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Fear and Loathing in Cleveland: Trump's RNC Acceptance Speech
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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.
Lendeborg says that the bad habits that made him such a disastrous student were exactly what made him a basketball scholar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024, after its disastrous $20 all-you-can-eat shrimp deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Vance’s post might be seen as his opening bid to run for president in 2028—dissociating himself from Trump’s most disastrous policy but not from Trump.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
Surprisingly, perhaps, I don’t often feel the same frustration you express in your letter when I read a letter where someone walks into a disastrous financial crisis.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
This belligerent, bullying tone might work with Francis, maybe even with me, but it was a disastrous tack to take with Charles.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
