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catastrophic

catastrophic

144 7.0
Causing very great damage or harm
  • adjective
  • /ˌkætəˈstrɑfɪk/
translation icon : catastrófico
  • Most of the time, they are neglected, sometimes with catastrophic results.
  • a catastrophic event
  • potentially catastrophic
  • catastrophic floods

And it's, it's been catastrophic for our country.

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Examples

  • The psychiatric fallout for their children was at times catastrophic and was always very challenging.

  • The earthquake caused catastrophic damage to the city, leaving thousands without homes.

  • And it's, it's been catastrophic for our country.

  • We are playing with fire and something very, very catastrophic could take place.

  • Any catastrophic weather event is possible these days.

  • And of course it's with catastrophic consequences.

  • Speaker, no deal would have catastrophic consequences for UK manufacturing.

  • You know, you have to face the reality of the situation, you suffered catastrophic burns.

  • The result was catastrophic and preventable.

  • To keep the minds of the youth idle is catastrophic to development.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

destructive
vscatastrophic
243 4.2

Causing great damage or harm

implies sudden severe damage and suffering rather than mere tendency
devastating
vscatastrophic
224 5.1

Causing very great damage or sadness

focuses more on sudden severe suffering than mere damage
disastrous
vscatastrophic
126 3.5

Causing very great harm, suffering, or failure

is more sudden and intensely harmful rather than just unfortunate
apocalyptic
vscatastrophic
61 8.6

Relating to great damage and chaos like the end of the world

focuses on sudden severe damage and suffering rather than end of world imagery
cataclysmic
vscatastrophic
22 9.1

Causing sudden very great damage to people, buildings or land

is about sudden severe damage and suffering
ruinous
vscatastrophic
10 7.0

Causing very serious harm to people or businesses

is more immediate and violently damaging rather than long-term harm
calamitous
vscatastrophic
6 7.9

An event that causes great harm or loss

stresses sudden extreme harm more than general misfortune
cataclysmal
vscatastrophic
9.9

Causing very large, sudden destruction that changes a place

emphasizes sudden extreme harm rather than general damage

Antonyms

138 3.4

Making something better or producing a good result

27 3.5

Helping you get a better result

Compounds

catastrophic illness
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A very serious illness that needs long hospital care and costs a lot

How Severe

devastating
224 5.1
catastrophic
144 7.0
disastrous
126 3.5
serious
2.0
harmful
161 2.6
minor
600 2.4

Surface Forms

catastrophic positive
catastrophically positive

Morphology

catastrophic = catastrophe (transparent) = catastrophe + ic

Formed by the productive adjectival suffix '-ic' from the noun 'catastrophe', so the meaning relates directly to that noun.

Etymology

Catastrophic comes from Greek parts kata- 'down' and strophe 'turning', so imagine something suddenly turning over or collapsing. That's why catastrophic describes events that cause sudden, very serious damage.