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
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.
Hundreds of intellectuals and others have signed letters and online petitions expressing fears of a disastrous denouement: the collection’s prolonged — and possible permanent — absence from Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Expectations of a potentially disastrous Ankara gathering weren’t met.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
This would be hard for any artist, but it’s disastrous for someone whose work is generally interpreted as autobiographical.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
What the Celtics got back was the oft-injured 36-year-old Paul George and a pair of first-round picks: a trade widely panned as one of the most disastrous in recent NBA memory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
If a crack opened up between one team and another, the result could be disastrous.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
