disastrous

adjective

di-ˈza-strəs How to pronounce disastrous (audio)
Definition of disastrousnext
1
as in fatal
bringing about ruin or misfortune a split-second, disastrous decision that I would forever regret

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction a disastrous fire from which the town never fully recovered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disastrous Steven Spielberg first brought to life the pages of Michael Crichton’s novel about a disastrous attempt to create a theme park with dinosaurs. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 6 Aug. 2026 Every disastrous contract somehow becomes the justification for the next disastrous contract. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026 The blistering pace is unusual in that it's usually reserved for recoveries from recessions or other disastrous circumstances. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026 During the near-disastrous Apollo 13 mission in 1970, commander Jim Lovell was informed of the successful impact while piloting his crippled spacecraft around the moon. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 4 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disastrous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disastrous
  1. fatal
  2. devastating
  3. unfortunate
  4. destructive
  5. catastrophic
Adjective
  • Bush and Bell both honed their leadership skills in Ferguson amid the racial unrest that followed the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in 2014.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The certification — and several more Boeing is targeting this year — are crucial in getting the company back to profitability, after two fatal crashes months apart in 2018 helped European rival Airbus pull ahead in global plane deliveries.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of fatal
Adjective
  • So having the pieces start to fall around her is devastating.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • When mice at Patricia Hunt’s lab at Washington State University began losing fetuses with devastating birth defects — facial deformities and missing hindquarters — or failed to reproduce at all, Hunt immediately put on her detective hat.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastating
Adjective
  • That is unfortunate for wagon loyalists, but the V60 gets to leave without an awkward farewell edition or cosmetic gimmicks.
    — Josh Max, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • This is especially unfortunate since there’s currently more content mastered in Dolby Vision HDR than in HDR10+, the competing high dynamic range standard.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of unfortunate
Adjective
  • Is promoting a destructive habit to aid education, at the cost of harming others, a genuine reflection of our values?
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Fire danger continues in the Pacific Northwest Saturday as flame-fueling winds reached their strongest point in days on Friday, challenging fire crews battling to keep destructive blazes from spreading in Spokane, Washington, and across the region.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of destructive
Adjective
  • The honest tension is that this speed and coherence has not extended to what China exports through open weights and the Digital Silk Road, where catastrophic-risk evaluation still lags US and international peer efforts.
    — Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Like a certain hero of Greek myth and big-screen blockbuster, the Etna of Yoon's title is the veteran of a catastrophic war, scarred in body and mind, dogged in pursuit of an improbable homecoming.
    — Colin Dwyer, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of catastrophic

Browse Nearby Words

disasters
disastrous
disastrously
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Cite this Entry

“Disastrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disastrous. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of disastrous for Spanish Speakers

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