disastrous

B1 Topic:Safety & Risk

US /dɪˈzæs.tɹəs/ UK /dɪˈzɑː.stɹəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #12739

Meanings

1

adj
Causing great harm, damage, or a very bad result.

The decision had disastrous consequences for the whole company.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing great harm, damage,... catastrophic cataclysmic

More apocalyptic calamitous cataclysmal deadlydebaculardestructive devastating disadventurous eradicativeextirpative

Word family

Derived forms disastrouslydisastrousnessnondisastrousundisastrous

Related forms disaster disastrously

Etymology

From disaster + -ous, after Middle French desastreux (modern French désastreux; from desastre (modern French désastre, “disaster”; from des- + astre, a calque of Italian disastro) + -eux), itself after Italian disastroso, from disastro + -oso, from dis- (“away, without”) (from Latin dis-) + astro (“star, planet”) (from Latin astrum (“star, celestial body”), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́στρον (ắstron)).

desastreux Middle French disastro Italian disastroso Italian dis- Latin astrum Latin ᾰ̓́στρον Ancient Greek

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# disastrous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈzæs.tɹəs/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈzɑː.stɹəs/
**Frequency rank:** 12739

## Meanings
1. Causing great harm, damage, or a very bad result.

## Examples
- The decision had disastrous consequences for the whole company.

## Synonyms
- apocalyptic
- calamitous
- cataclysmal
- cataclysmic
- catastrophic
- deadly
- debacular
- destructive
- devastating
- disadventurous
- eradicative
- extirpative

## Derived Forms
- disastrously
- disastrousness
- nondisastrous
- undisastrous

## Related Forms
- disaster
- disastrously

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: desastreux
- Root: disastro
- Root: disastroso
- Root: dis-
- Root: astrum
- Root: ᾰ̓́στρον

## Etymology
From disaster + -ous, after Middle French desastreux (modern French désastreux; from desastre (modern French désastre, “disaster”; from des- + astre, a calque of Italian disastro) + -eux), itself after Italian disastroso, from disastro + -oso, from dis- (“away, without”) (from Latin dis-) + astro (“star, planet”) (from Latin astrum (“star, celestial body”), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́στρον (ắstron)).

## AI Etymology
disastrous comes from disaster + -ous, after Middle French desastreux (modern French désastreux; from desastre (modern French désastre, “disaster”; from des- + astre, a calque of Italian disastro) + -eux), itself after Italian disastroso, from disastro + -oso, from dis- (“away, without”) (from Latin dis-) + astro (“star, planet”) (from Latin astrum (“star, celestial body”), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́στρον (ắstron)). The historical chain includes Middle French desastreux, Italian disastro, Italian disastroso, Latin dis-, Latin astrum, and later related forms. The current sense is Causing great harm, damage, or a very bad result. English relatives and later formations include disastrously, disastrousness, nondisastrous, disaster.

## Topics
- Safety & Risk

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disastrous

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