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to catastrophize

to catastrophize

1 8.4
To think a situation is much worse than it really is
  • verb
  • /kəˈtæstrəˌfaɪz/
translation icon : catastrofizar
  • When faced with challenges, it's easy to catastrophize and think things are worse than they actually are.
  • dancers catastrophize
  • catastrophize less
  • pain catastrophizing

And so seeing where you're catastrophizing is important.

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Examples

  • And so seeing where you're catastrophizing is important.

  • We don't catastrophize and turn things that are molehills into mountains.

  • I think, You know, if you're going to catastrophize it like nothing really bad is happening yet.

  • So we can say, are you catastrophizing by saying that this is going to end in some kind of a civil war?

  • And this time, she is not catastrophizing.

  • It's to understand the the fact that you catastrophize risk is not some personal curse bestowed on just you.

  • So not taking emotions as fact is a big one for me that's really, really helped in relationships and it helps me not catastrophize things as well.

  • Don't catastrophize when it wasn't, and don't trivialize when it was.

  • People who catastrophize often imagine the worst possible outcomes in everyday situations.

  • She tends to catastrophize, worrying that a minor mistake will lead to total failure.

Synonyms

to look on the dark side
vsto catastrophize
  • Informal
1 7.5

Focus on the bad parts of a situation and expect the worst

paints situations as much worse than they are and exaggerates outcomes

How Worried

to panic
272 2.3
to overreact
229 3.8
to catastrophize
1 8.4
to worry
1.0
to fret
67 4.2

Surface Forms

catastrophize infinitive
catastrophized past participle
catastrophizing present participle
catastrophizes third person singular

Morphology

catastrophize = catastrophe (transparent) = catastrophe + ize

Formed by adding the productive suffix '-ize' to 'catastrophe', yielding 'to treat or regard as a catastrophe', which learners can infer from the base.

Etymology

Catastrophize comes from the word catastrophe, which means 'a big disaster'. So to catastrophize is to make a small problem into a 'big disaster' in your mind and to imagine the worst.