as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a catastrophic tornado destroyed the hamlet's only house of worship
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of catastrophic
The floods will return – and some will be catastrophic.
—
Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
The law defines catastrophic risk narrowly as incidents potentially causing 50+ deaths or $1 billion in damage through weapons assistance, autonomous criminal acts, or loss of control.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2025
The impacts could have been catastrophic.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Many of them endured catastrophic wounds that would have killed or maimed them in Israel's past wars, Israeli combat medics and surgeons say.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
The pose recalls the odalisque, though the tone is godlike detachment, presiding over a catastrophic wreck.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
These are hardly catastrophic losses.
—Toby Stuart, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
While the scientists found that catastrophic injuries could still occur, all four materials were found to lessen damage from shark bites.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025
Finding who attacked her, leading to a catastrophic brain injury that will lead to her death, is now her mission, and a chance to finally succeed at something important.
—The Know, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
The law defines catastrophic risk narrowly as incidents potentially causing 50+ deaths or $1 billion in damage through weapons assistance, autonomous criminal acts, or loss of control.
—ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2025
The impacts could have been catastrophic.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Many of them endured catastrophic wounds that would have killed or maimed them in Israel's past wars, Israeli combat medics and surgeons say.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
The pose recalls the odalisque, though the tone is godlike detachment, presiding over a catastrophic wreck.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
These are hardly catastrophic losses.
—Toby Stuart, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
While the scientists found that catastrophic injuries could still occur, all four materials were found to lessen damage from shark bites.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025
Finding who attacked her, leading to a catastrophic brain injury that will lead to her death, is now her mission, and a chance to finally succeed at something important.
—The Know, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophic
Adjective
-
Pittman, 63, was credited with stabilizing the program in the wake of the disastrous 4-20 run in two years under Chad Morris (2018-19), and had a 32-34 record in his first FBS head coaching job.—
Tom Murphy,
Arkansas Online,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Inconsistencies in recent years, along with a disastrous 56-13 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, spelled the end of Pittman's tenure at Arkansas.—
Reice Shipley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The crossover came amid recent turmoil, including Colbert’s show being canceled by in July and Kimmel's temporary suspension by ABC in September following controversial comments about the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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And one expert has suggested that steel or concrete barriers can also help guard against deadly attacks like the one in Grand Blanc Township, as well as unintentional fatal wrecks and may even help businesses stave off plaintiff lawsuits.—
Frank Witsil,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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All the rest are likely to shine in movies by good directors, and most actors whose reputations aren’t illustriously artistic have mainly been unfortunate in their collaborations.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Irish butter may now an internationally marketable commodity, but in Swift’s day, the Irish peasantry fought back against their replacement by cattle by maiming and driving the unfortunate cattle off cliffs.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophic. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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