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
Much like with the newspaper industry, the internet has had a similar impact on radio stations, just not quite as catastrophic.
—
Mac Engel
april 2, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2026
Most notably — and most devastatingly — Woods was involved in a one-car rollover crash in Los Angeles in February 2021, which left him with catastrophic leg injuries.
—Megan Armstrong, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
If their hypothesis were correct, that would be catastrophic.
—Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Nicole Kruegel is a partner at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, a Palm Beach Gardens, Pensacola and Jacksonville law firm with a national practice focusing on nursing home abuse, medical malpractice, catastrophic injury and mass torts.
—Nicole Kruegel, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
That, for the family, was a catastrophic misjudgement, with an eight-minute gap before the paramedics arrived and started trying to resuscitate Adam.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2026
The not-uncommon weather phenomenon turned catastrophic on March 11, as back-to-back storms and record-breaking rain led to more than 30 inches of rainfall in some areas.
—Tiare-Leiana Solis-Ridgell, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Mar. 2026
But when there's a lot of rain, the river rises and can cause catastrophic flooding.
—Rebecca Hersher, NPR, 30 Mar. 2026
Each individual increase feels tolerable – annoying, maybe, but not catastrophic.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
Mac Engel
april 2, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2026
Most notably — and most devastatingly — Woods was involved in a one-car rollover crash in Los Angeles in February 2021, which left him with catastrophic leg injuries.
—Megan Armstrong, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
If their hypothesis were correct, that would be catastrophic.
—Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Nicole Kruegel is a partner at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, a Palm Beach Gardens, Pensacola and Jacksonville law firm with a national practice focusing on nursing home abuse, medical malpractice, catastrophic injury and mass torts.
—Nicole Kruegel, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
That, for the family, was a catastrophic misjudgement, with an eight-minute gap before the paramedics arrived and started trying to resuscitate Adam.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2026
The not-uncommon weather phenomenon turned catastrophic on March 11, as back-to-back storms and record-breaking rain led to more than 30 inches of rainfall in some areas.
—Tiare-Leiana Solis-Ridgell, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Mar. 2026
But when there's a lot of rain, the river rises and can cause catastrophic flooding.
—Rebecca Hersher, NPR, 30 Mar. 2026
Each individual increase feels tolerable – annoying, maybe, but not catastrophic.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophic
Adjective
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Duke appeared to be too much for the Huskies, who went more than five minutes without scoring during a disastrous first-half stretch to fall behind, 44-25.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
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And years later, when the group splintered into increasingly militant factions, some took part in a disastrous bank robbery that killed an innocent guard and two police officers—three men who were just doing their jobs that day, and who left behind their own kids, their own families.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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That is the highest-level designation for severe accidents, placing it alongside the fatal Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) shuttle disasters in terms of gravity.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
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The cause of that fatal accident remains under investigation.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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That house has a history of unfortunate events, including the fate of Cookie, an errant heiress and her pooch.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The start of 2026 has been a series of unfortunate events for Michelle Harris and her family.—
Monique John,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Catastrophic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophic. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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