disastrous
adjective
di·sas·trous
di-ˈza-strəs 
also -ˈsa-
1
: attended by or causing suffering or disaster : calamitous
a disastrous flood
2
: terrible, horrendous
a disastrous score
disastrously
adverb
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
To be clear, after the disastrous Juwan Howard run ended, administrators made sure May was armed with enough money to not have to shop in the bargain bin of the portal.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026
Even though the number of fires is small compared to the roughly 100,000 flights every day around the globe, the potential consequences of a battery fire can be disastrous.
—ABC News, 7 Apr. 2026
The agency said in a series of posts on X that ‘‘each illegally entered the United States during the Biden administration's disastrous open border policy.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Los Angeles was idle Monday after a loss to the Mavericks, which ended a disastrous weekend defined by injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disastrous
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026
Even though the number of fires is small compared to the roughly 100,000 flights every day around the globe, the potential consequences of a battery fire can be disastrous.
—ABC News, 7 Apr. 2026
The agency said in a series of posts on X that ‘‘each illegally entered the United States during the Biden administration's disastrous open border policy.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Los Angeles was idle Monday after a loss to the Mavericks, which ended a disastrous weekend defined by injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disastrous
Cite this Entry
“Disastrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disastrous. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
