disastrous

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adjective di·sas·trous \ di-ˈzas-trəs also -ˈsas- \

Definition of disastrous

1 :attended by or causing suffering or disaster :calamitous

a disastrous flood

2 :terrible, horrendous

a disastrous score

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disastrously

adverb

See disastrous defined for English-language learners

Examples of disastrous in a Sentence

Half the city was destroyed by a disastrous fire.
The bad weather could have a disastrous effect on the area's tourism industry.
His failure to back up the computer files had disastrous consequences.
The strike was economically disastrous.

Recent Examples of disastrous from the Web

A protracted government shutdown or a default on sovereign debt could be disastrous — for the economy and for the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

— jonathan l martin, The Seattle Times, "Trump, McConnell locked in ‘cold war,’ threatening the GOP agenda," 22 Aug. 2017
A recent study revealed that using CRISPR to edit just two genes can lead to disastrous chromosomal rearrangements.

— james kath, Scientific American Blog Network, "Brave New World? Not Even Close," 2 Aug. 2017
AROUND THE DIVISION Ravens: More injuries as the disastrous start to camp continues for Baltimore.

— paul dehner jr., Cincinnati.com, "Walkthru: Understanding Burfict backlash," 2 Aug. 2017
But the aftermath of such an impact would be even more disastrous: Tsunamis, earthquakes, and vast clouds of dust blocking out the sun would lead to crop failure and mass extinction.

— giorgia guglielmi, Science | AAAS, "This is what it would take to kill all life on Earth," 14 July 2017
That is feeding strong interest in making Warren’s 2018 reelection a very difficult — if not disastrous — political experience for her.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Self-Described ‘Real Indian’ Offers Abrasive Challenge to Warren," 14 July 2017
That could be disastrous if the consumer wants to sell at some point, but owes more than the home is worth.

— teresa dixon murray, cleveland.com, "Quicken Loans penalized over home appraisal values," 14 July 2017
Trump has said all options including military force are available against Pyongyang, though its neighbors warn a strike could be disastrous for North Asia.

— andy sharp, Bloomberg.com, "Kim Jong Un Seeks to Exploit U.S.-China Tensions With Missile Claims," 4 July 2017
GOP leaders in Congress have been trying to repeal the ACA for seven years, deeming it disastrous public policy that costs too much and leaves consumers with rising premiums and too few choices for care.

— anna gorman, Kaiser Health News, "Calif. Officials Sound Alarm, Envisioning $114B Hit To Medi-Cal Under U.S. Senate Bill," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disastrous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.