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
Despite heroic acts of survival, 25 girls and two counselors died in the catastrophic flooding, as did camp co-owner Dick Eastland.
—
Brian Brant, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026
This year, several Western states had very dry to record-dry winters, setting them up for a potentially catastrophic wildfire season.
—Austin Amestoy, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
Haiti’s recent catastrophic floods have only compounded the country’s overlapping crises.
—Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
Haitians joined the program in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and have been extended multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.
—Lindsay Whitehurst, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
The Democratic state superintendent of public instruction addressed the state’s wildfire insurance crisis, where private insurers have been dropping policies as climate change fuels more frequent catastrophic fire.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
But that exciting crash sequence — from initial turbulence through to catastrophic Pacific Ocean landing — is where high-stakes action specialist Harlin is most firmly in his sweet spot.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Apr. 2026
Theophilopoulos and his girlfriend of more than nine years, Marilyn Medo, were displaced for 11 months following Hurricane Milton’s catastrophic damage that caused flooding in Medo’s house in the Bradenton area.
—Jason Dill
april 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
Other catastrophic emergencies that pose an immediate threat to safety.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2026
Brian Brant, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026
This year, several Western states had very dry to record-dry winters, setting them up for a potentially catastrophic wildfire season.
—Austin Amestoy, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
Haiti’s recent catastrophic floods have only compounded the country’s overlapping crises.
—Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
Haitians joined the program in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and have been extended multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.
—Lindsay Whitehurst, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
The Democratic state superintendent of public instruction addressed the state’s wildfire insurance crisis, where private insurers have been dropping policies as climate change fuels more frequent catastrophic fire.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
But that exciting crash sequence — from initial turbulence through to catastrophic Pacific Ocean landing — is where high-stakes action specialist Harlin is most firmly in his sweet spot.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Apr. 2026
Theophilopoulos and his girlfriend of more than nine years, Marilyn Medo, were displaced for 11 months following Hurricane Milton’s catastrophic damage that caused flooding in Medo’s house in the Bradenton area.
—Jason Dill
april 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
Other catastrophic emergencies that pose an immediate threat to safety.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophic
Adjective
-
After last year’s disastrous Eaton fire, Southern California Edison executives vowed to be transparent about what caused the inferno that killed at least 19 people and left thousands of families homeless in Altadena.—
Melody Petersen,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Sturm then gave Swayman the mercy pull, which frankly could have happened after the disastrous first.—
Stephen Conroy,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Homicide detectives are investigating the fatal shootings of three adults in Baldwin Park last week — two of whom were a married couple, officials said, who were being mourned by their college-age children.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Police have arrested a man on murder and firearm charges in connection with a fatal shooting in Stratford earlier this month.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But, yeah, that would be unfortunate.—
Ricky Sayer,
CBS News,
2 May 2026
-
In this unfortunate category, Amazon’s new feature for generating mini-podcast segments that shill for products on its shopping platform really takes the cake.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophic. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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