drastic
[dras-tik]
- acting with force or violence; violent.
- extremely severe or extensive: a drastic tax-reduction measure.
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Origin of drastic
1685–95; < Greek drastikós active, equivalent to drast(ós) (verbal adjective of drân to do) + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for drastic
Contemporary Examples
Park employees helped John quit tobacco by way of a butts-proof glass enclosure, a drastic change in diet, and regular exercise.
Zebra Finches, Dolphins, Elephants, and More Animals Under the InfluenceBill Schulz
December 31, 2014
On a local level, pipeline leaks and spills could have a number of drastic effects.
As alarming as parents might find those results, Dr. Temple cautions against jumping to any drastic conclusions.
This drastic population decline was mainly caused by the introduction of European diseases.
The doc fix is an attempt to prevent doctors who take Medicare patients from having to take a drastic pay cut.
Historical Examples
No matter what others may want, these people want a drastic economy.
But an unspoiled boy would not have needed that drastic medicine.
A Treatise on Parents and ChildrenGeorge Bernard Shaw
He felt that the time had come for action of a quick and drastic nature.
The Film of FearArnold Fredericks
Because of it relations with other persons undergo a drastic change.
The Romance of the SoulLilian Staveley
Drastic improvements in housing, feeding, and sanitation in the towns themselves.
Another SheafJohn Galsworthy
drastic
- extreme or forceful; severe
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Word Origin
C17: from Greek drastikos, from dran to do, act
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for drastic
adj.
1690s, originally medical, "forceful, vigorous, especially in effect on bowels," from Greek drastikos "effective, efficacious; active, violent," from drasteon "(thing) to be done," from dran "to do, act, perform." Sense of "extreme, severe" is first recorded 1808. Related: Drastically.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper