as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a catastrophic tornado destroyed the hamlet's only house of worship
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Recent Examples of catastrophic
In July 1997, parts of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic were struck by catastrophic river flooding that left more than 100 people dead.
—
David Faris, TheWeek, 14 May 2026
Blake scrambles back to prevent the catastrophic, but the shot flies over the bar.
—Franklin Leonard, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026
The complaint alleges Derrick demonstrated how to manufacture detonators and volatile explosive compounds, including nickel aminoguanidine perchlorate, ethylene glycol dinitrate, HMTD, hexamine dinitrate and ammonium nitrate mixtures capable of causing catastrophic damage.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 13 May 2026
Water service has now been restored to the historic mountain city of Victor, Colorado, after nearly a week of outages tied to catastrophic failures in the city's aging water system.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Focusing on the catastrophic impacts of his policies on the state of Maryland requires more nuance and careful research to make the case.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2026
Scientists have long warned that the Amazon is nearing a catastrophic tipping point.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
For a working family whose home is its primary asset, that freeze can be financially catastrophic.
—Patricia Lock Dawson, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
But the gaps this outbreak revealed in our ability to respond, and our immense susceptibility to a virus more capable and catastrophic, will remain.
—Craig Spencer, STAT, 13 May 2026
David Faris, TheWeek, 14 May 2026
Blake scrambles back to prevent the catastrophic, but the shot flies over the bar.
—Franklin Leonard, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026
The complaint alleges Derrick demonstrated how to manufacture detonators and volatile explosive compounds, including nickel aminoguanidine perchlorate, ethylene glycol dinitrate, HMTD, hexamine dinitrate and ammonium nitrate mixtures capable of causing catastrophic damage.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 13 May 2026
Water service has now been restored to the historic mountain city of Victor, Colorado, after nearly a week of outages tied to catastrophic failures in the city's aging water system.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Focusing on the catastrophic impacts of his policies on the state of Maryland requires more nuance and careful research to make the case.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2026
Scientists have long warned that the Amazon is nearing a catastrophic tipping point.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
For a working family whose home is its primary asset, that freeze can be financially catastrophic.
—Patricia Lock Dawson, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
But the gaps this outbreak revealed in our ability to respond, and our immense susceptibility to a virus more capable and catastrophic, will remain.
—Craig Spencer, STAT, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophic
Adjective
-
Too much of it can be disastrous for the local ecosystems, leading to issues like algal blooms.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
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The Lakers coach couldn’t even sub fast enough before Ayton’s two-handed frustration shove of Oklahoma City guard Ajay Mitchell put a disappointing punctuation mark on a disastrous 19-second stretch for the Lakers starting center.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
Two Connecticut State Police troopers have been cleared in connection with a fatal shooting in Bozrah last August after the state Inspector General concluded that the armed woman who was shot was apparently trying to commit suicide by cop.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
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The star died in 2009, at age 50, of cardiac arrest due to a fatal dose of propofol and other drugs.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
Lee said the incident is especially unfortunate, given the good work VCH does.—
Deborah Vankin,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
-
This is unfortunate and, from your telling, needlessly aggressive.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophic. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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