drastic
Americanadjective
-
extremely severe or extensive.
a drastic tax-reduction measure.
-
(of medicines) acting with force or violence.
a drastic laxative.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of drastic
First recorded in 1685–95; from Greek drastikós “active,” equivalent to drast(ós) (verbal adjective of drân “to do”) + -ikos adjective suffix ( see -ic)
Explanation
Something that is drastic is violent, forceful, and extreme. If you are saving for a car and you only have $50, you need to make a drastic change to your money accumulation scheme. The word drastic comes from the Greek word for effective, but we use it to mean incredibly effective. If you want a drastic makeover, get rid of all your clothes, change your hair completely, and pick up a new way of speaking. Sometimes drastic action goes too far and so has bad consequences. A bankrupt company might make a drastic decision to fire the management without figuring out how to manage itself in the future.
Vocabulary lists containing drastic
"Sorry, Wrong Number," Vocabulary from the play
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Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Catching Fire
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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.
Drastic restrictions on cross-country travel took effect Thursday in cash-strapped Cuba, with spaces on ever scarcer trains and buses now reserved for the sick, people traveling for funerals and other emergencies.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Appeared in the June 11, 2026, print edition as 'OpenAI Weighs Drastic Price Cuts'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Def Leppard's new album, Drastic Symphonies, is released on 19 May, the same date they play a special hometown gig at iconic Sheffield venue the Leadmill.
From BBC • May 11, 2023
Drastic changes require preparation time for both the recipients and the delivery/payor systems that serve them.
From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023
His parents gave him a fifty-dollar gift certificate to Drastic Plastic, the punk rock record store downtown.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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.
