disastrous
Americanadjective
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causing great distress or injury; ruinous; very unfortunate; calamitous.
The rain and cold proved disastrous to his health.
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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
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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.
He said cuts to British Transport Police funding had been "disastrous" and called for outsourced security and enforcement staff to be brought in-house "as a matter of urgency".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
I wanted to know if cryptocurrency actually offered a solution to the kinds of disastrous inflation and economic disenfranchisement the people I’d met had told me about.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
But the Emmys have not been hosted by a non-comedian since 2008, when five reality hosts landed the gig with disastrous results.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said that Pakistan were "clearly shot for confidence" after such a disastrous morning.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Her disastrous birth experience, and her decertification, had been so sudden and startling that no one at the Birthing Unit had thought to supply her with pills or instruct her to take them.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
