Catastrophic
/ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk/
Definitions
Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering; disastrous.
/ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk/
Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering.
The earthquake had catastrophic effects on the city.
💡 Simply: Something that is catastrophic is really, really bad and causes a lot of damage or harm.
👶 For kids: It means something really, really bad happened, like a big accident.
More Examples
The failure of the dam resulted in a catastrophic flood.
How It's Used
"The hurricane caused catastrophic damage to the coastal towns."
"The oil spill had catastrophic consequences for marine life."
From late Middle English *catastrophic*, from Latin *catastrophicus*, from Greek *katastrophē* 'overturning, sudden change, disaster'.
The word's usage has remained largely consistent, focusing on the disastrous nature of events, although its frequency increased with the rise of mass media reporting on large-scale disasters.
Memory tip
Think 'catastrophe' - a sudden disaster. 'Catastrophic' describes something that causes such a disaster.