Definition of catastrophize
catastrophized;
catastrophizing;
catastrophizes
: to imagine the worst possible outcome of an action or event : to think about a situation or event as being a catastrophe or having a potentially catastrophic outcome
- It's easy to have one bad night of sleep and catastrophize that you'll never sleep well again.
- —Katherine Sharkey, quoted in Allure, June 2012
- Our minds are constantly in the past or the future—we'll ruminate on what's too late to change or catastrophize about what hasn't happened yet.
- —Diana Winston, quoted in O, The Oprah Magazine, 1 Feb. 2013
- This meal needed to be special. Special and kosher. With this in mind, I began to catastrophize: What if I screwed the whole thing up? What if I unknowingly broke a rule of kashrut, effectively tainting the whole meal and ruining the start to the holiday season?
- —Gabi Moskowitz, City Paper, 3 Oct. 2012
- Learning not to catastrophize and to think more helpful and truthful thoughts can bring down stress …
- —Mary Jean Porter, Pueblo (Colorado) Chieftain, 13 Nov. 2012
