Definition of DISASTROUS

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 on the Web Already, at least a dozen states are pausing their reopening plans and others are looking at ways to keep the weekend's Fourth of July holiday from becoming a disastrous crucible of new infections. — Aj Willingham, CNN, "5 things to know for June 29: Coronavirus, Russia, police reform, Facebook, Pakistan," 29 June 2020 The current gin craze knows no bounds, but the British have been imbibing the stuff for hundreds of years, sometimes with disastrous results. — The New Yorker, "Sunday Reading: Cocktail Hour," 28 June 2020 Feldman’s book is a reflection on the Arab Spring and, as its title suggests, its disastrous ending. — Daniel Byman, Washington Post, "For the Middle East, the Arab Spring was a rare chance to control its own fate," 26 June 2020 Orders to American factories for big-ticket goods rebounded last month from a disastrous April as the US economy began to slowly reopen. — BostonGlobe.com, "State expands rebate program for electric vehicles," 26 June 2020 Under the CARES Act — the $2.2 trillion stimulus package that became law on March 27 – Congress authorized up to $1,200 to individuals to mitigate the disastrous economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown. — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, "IRS sent $1.4B in stimulus payments to 1.1M dead people, mostly after Trump called snafus a ‘tiny’ problem," 25 June 2020 Keion Franklin, a Minneapolis resident who participated in protests after Floyd’s death, told the Tribune that defunding the police would be disastrous for the city’s North Side, which has a higher crime rate. — Fox News, "On Minneapolis' North Side, residents question calls to defund police: 'Is it going to turn into World War III?'," 24 June 2020 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to the crisis has mirrored Trump’s, with similarly disastrous results. — Harry Cheadle, The New Republic, "America Has Failed the Existential-Crisis Test," 23 June 2020 In coming years, a fact-optional approach to addressing climate change could prove disastrous, as might ignoring the ethical and health consequences of humankind’s exploitative relationship with nonhuman animals. — Tom Saler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Tom Saler: COVID-19 recession exposed cracks in the nation’s economic foundation that were long ignored," 20 June 2020

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.