CATASTROPHIC Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

catastrophic

adjective

as in disastrous

bringing about ruin or misfortune a catastrophic tornado destroyed the hamlet's only house of worship

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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 catastrophic According to authorities, no one tried to help Browner, who suffered catastrophic injuries. — Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 Engineers in the United States are using sound to identify potential catastrophic failures of drones. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Oct. 2026 The probe adds to mounting scrutiny that the AI companies have been facing over their safety and security practices, especially after industry researchers warned that advanced models could cause catastrophic harm. — Ashley Capoot,jordan Novet,annie Palmer,lora Kolodny,kai Nicol-Schwarz,caleigh Keating, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026 Helner believes that sparing Sinwar’s life was a catastrophic mistake. — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026 For Nikki, being wanted by a man who refuses to accept her autonomy is just as catastrophic. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Oct. 2026 Four pages later, Anthropic notes the amount of damage AI could do may be so catastrophic that no insurer would pay out — or even write a policy — to cover such an existential threat to humanity. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026 Tech giants have told us all about how AI will take control away from society, steal our jobs, allow bad actors to design dangerous pathogens or cause a catastrophic cyberattack or destroy our financial systems. — Staff, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026 Pilots had to make constant manual adjustments to avoid a catastrophic crash into waves. — IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for catastrophic

Adjective

Prolonged pump stoppages could lead to a disastrous local scenario of ruptured water supply, district heating, and sewage pipes, even if electricity remains available elsewhere in the country.

— Tatiana Mitrova, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2026
Yet, the Royals are sitting at home after a disastrous 69-93 campaign.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of disastrous

Adjective

Speed cameras have been shown to reduce speeding by 31% to 82% and fatal crashes by 53% to 71%, according to the Department of Transportation.

— Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Kumar faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person in Deschutes County stemming from the fatal wreck.

— Eric Mack , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of fatal

Adjective

For many people, however, the presentation instead bears an uncanny and unfortunate resemblance to imagery used in Nazi-era Germany.

— Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
The Giannis Antetokounmpo era is off to an unfortunate start, as the Heat is 0-2 to start a season for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Browse Nearby Words

catastrophes

catastrophic

catatonic

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“Catastrophic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catastrophic. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of catastrophic

adjective

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