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disastrous

disastrous

126 3.5
Causing very great harm, suffering, or failure
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈzæstrəs/
translation icon : desastroso
  • The hurricane had disastrous effects on the coastal towns, leaving hundreds homeless.
  • disastrous consequences
  • disastrous effects
  • disastrous results

I worried that that it would be a disastrous move.

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Examples

  • I thought this week would be more disastrous and more difficult than it actually was.

  • I've been married four times, each one more disastrous than the one before it.

  • I worried that that it would be a disastrous move.

  • Can you explain why that is such a disastrous thing for our society?

  • Failure to do so would be disastrous for both of us.

  • How did they miss critical details or make decisions with such disastrous results?

    Academic text (2011)
  • But as you know, that moment was lost with disastrous consequences for the King.

  • The second thing is the really disastrous consequences of life on social media.

  • America attempted to launch her satellite with disastrous results.

  • It was a disastrous failure of workforce planning.

Synonyms

terrible
vsdisastrous
1.0

Very bad or unpleasant and often serious

is about causing great damage, suffering, or failure rather than general badness
tragic
vsdisastrous
367 3.4

Extremely sad, often because of death or a disaster

is focused on harm and misfortune rather than sorrow or emotional tone
devastating
vsdisastrous
224 5.1

Causing very great damage or sadness

is about great damage, suffering, or failure rather than intense overwhelm
catastrophic
vsdisastrous
144 7.0

Causing very great damage or harm

is used for great damage or failure without implying sudden timing
fatal
vsdisastrous
64 3.9

Causing very serious harm or ruin

is used for great damage, suffering, or failure without implying finality
ill-fated
vsdisastrous
19 6.1

Likely to have very bad luck and end badly

is about events causing great damage or suffering rather than fate or destiny
ruinous
vsdisastrous
10 7.0

Causing very serious harm to people or businesses

is about broad great damage, suffering, or failure rather than specific ruin
calamitous
vsdisastrous
6 7.9

An event that causes great harm or loss

is focused on wide damage, suffering, or failure rather than only misfortune
dreadful
vsdisastrous
1 4.3

A very bad or shocking thing, often a poor story

is used for events causing serious harm or failure rather than mere shock
cataclysmal
vsdisastrous
9.9

Causing very large, sudden destruction that changes a place

is about great damage or failure without stressing upheaval

Antonyms

138 3.4

Making something better or producing a good result

20 2.0

Likely to bring a good result

How Damaging

catastrophic
144 7.0
disastrous
126 3.5
serious
2.0
bad
1.0
unfortunate
469 1.2

Surface Forms

disastrous positive
disasterous positive

Morphology

disastrous = disaster (transparent) = disaster + ous

The adjective is a regular adjectival formation from 'disaster' meaning 'causing or related to a disaster', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Disastrous comes from an old idea that the stars control good or bad luck: it joins dis- ('bad') and astro ('star'), the same part you see in astronomy. So something 'disastrous' was thought to be caused by a 'bad star', which is why it now means an event that brings great damage or failure.