catastrophic

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk/ UK /kætəˈstɹɒfɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #12166

Meanings

1

adj
Causing terrible damage, suffering, or destruction.

The earthquake had a catastrophic effect on the whole region.
2

adj
So serious that it leads to total failure with no chance of recovery.

A single catastrophic mistake destroyed the company overnight.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing terrible damage,... ruinous

More catastrophal

Opposites

anastrophic

Word family

Derived forms catastrophicallymegacatastrophicnoncatastrophicpostcatastrophicsubcatastrophicsupercatastrophicuncatastrophic

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

catastrophic illness
a severe illness involving prolonged care or recovery and major expense

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek καταστροφικός (katastrophikós). By surface analysis, catastrophe + -ic.

καταστροφικός Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# catastrophic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /kætəˈstɹɒfɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 12166

## Meanings
1. Causing terrible damage, suffering, or destruction.
2. So serious that it leads to total failure with no chance of recovery.

## Examples
- The earthquake had a catastrophic effect on the whole region.
- A single catastrophic mistake destroyed the company overnight.

## Synonyms
- catastrophal

## Antonyms
- anastrophic

## Derived Forms
- catastrophically
- megacatastrophic
- noncatastrophic
- postcatastrophic
- subcatastrophic
- supercatastrophic
- uncatastrophic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: καταστροφικός

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek καταστροφικός (katastrophikós). By surface analysis, catastrophe + -ic.

## AI Etymology
catastrophic is an adjective. It is a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek καταστροφικός (katastrophikós). By surface analysis, catastrophe + -ic. Historical forms in the chain include καταστροφικός (Ancient Greek). Current senses include causing terrible damage, suffering, or destruction and so serious that it leads to total failure with no chance of recovery. Derived forms include catastrophically, megacatastrophic, noncatastrophic, postcatastrophic, and subcatastrophic.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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