adj
catastrophic
ka-tuh-STRO-fihk
adj
1
Extremely harmful or disastrous, often on a scale from which recovery is difficult.
"The earthquake caused catastrophic damage to the city."
"A single mistake could have catastrophic consequences."
How to Use Catastrophic
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDescribing something so damaging it counts as a catastrophe.
Common pairings
catastrophic failure
catastrophic consequences
catastrophic damage
Word Forms
more catastrophic comparative, most catastrophic superlative
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The earthquake caused _____ damage to the city.
Etymology
From catastrophe plus the adjective suffix -ic.