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
And despite volatility across markets, oil prices don’t seem to be creeping back toward catastrophic levels.
—
Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
And in some cases, going up against her has resulted in a nearly catastrophic loss in follower count.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
Everything seemed to be in its right place until Radio Silence were thrown a potential catastrophic curve ball.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Asheville has been rebuilding since Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic flooding on parts of Western North Carolina in 2024.
—Jenna Eason, Charlotte Observer, 12 Mar. 2026
Remove Stains Normally, grease stains can be a nightmare to remove, and one slip of tomato sauce onto your favorite blouse or ink spill onto the white carpet can be catastrophic.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Massive, life-threatening tornado tears carves 'catastrophic' path across two states.
—FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Despite its reliance on natural water sources, a brutal five-year drought has depleted its rivers and aquifers, leaving the nation on the brink of a catastrophic water crisis.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 11 Mar. 2026
Until one night, when she is violently attacked and suffers a catastrophic head injury.
—Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
And in some cases, going up against her has resulted in a nearly catastrophic loss in follower count.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
Everything seemed to be in its right place until Radio Silence were thrown a potential catastrophic curve ball.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Asheville has been rebuilding since Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic flooding on parts of Western North Carolina in 2024.
—Jenna Eason, Charlotte Observer, 12 Mar. 2026
Remove Stains Normally, grease stains can be a nightmare to remove, and one slip of tomato sauce onto your favorite blouse or ink spill onto the white carpet can be catastrophic.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Massive, life-threatening tornado tears carves 'catastrophic' path across two states.
—FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Despite its reliance on natural water sources, a brutal five-year drought has depleted its rivers and aquifers, leaving the nation on the brink of a catastrophic water crisis.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 11 Mar. 2026
Until one night, when she is violently attacked and suffers a catastrophic head injury.
—Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophic
Adjective
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Each hot run was countered by a disastrous stretch for seemingly everyone.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2026
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But two disastrous seasons followed that campaign, with the Hurricanes going a combined 22-41 in 2023-24 and 2024-25.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The killing is Kansas City’s 27th homicide of 2026, which lines up exactly with the 27 homicides the city had seen at this time last year, according to data kept by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings.—
Nathan Pilling
March 17,
Kansas City Star,
18 Mar. 2026
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Investigators argued the fatal poisoning was not the first attempt on Eric Richins’ life.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The interviews themselves are informative, but unobtrusive, and the while intimate footage of Frazier and Reynolds’ personal lives paints a slightly wider picture of their circumstances, their moods in the aftermath of their unfortunate digital breakthroughs is kept largely at an arm’s length.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Juicy is in the unfortunate position of following Jane.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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