disastrous

adjective

di-ˈza-strəs How to pronounce disastrous (audio)
Definition of disastrousnext
1
as in fatal
bringing about ruin or misfortune a split-second, disastrous decision that I would forever regret

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devastating
causing or tending to cause destruction a disastrous fire from which the town never fully recovered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 disastrous But real power, particularly in numbers, can make things happen or stop really disastrous things from happening. — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 The 46-year-old was dismissed from the Mets halfway through the 2026 season after a disastrous start, which included a 12-game losing streak in April. — Frederick Sutton Sinclair, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 The timing was curious, coming after an underwhelming but hardly disastrous European performance, as was the identity of the messenger. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 In the centuries since, concrete has come to reshape our way of life, with disastrous results for the climate. — Sara Herschander, Vox, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disastrous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disastrous
  1. fatal
  2. devastating
  3. unfortunate
  4. destructive
  5. catastrophic
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
  • As a super El Niño intensifies in the Pacific Ocean, coastal beach erosion is devastating Southern California and beyond.
    — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But this same resilience can make wars longer and more devastating.
    — Tatiana Mitrova, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of devastating
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
Adjective
  • What differentiates this wave of sudden wealth syndrome from the dot-com era, DiFuria said, is that people are making money from a technology many consider destructive—including some of the people building it.
    — Molly A. Wallace, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In one memorable scene, Mari takes to a whiteboard to explain the destructive workings of capitalism, a lengthy, potentially didactic exercise that Okamoto transforms into an unexpectedly intimate exchange.
    — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of destructive
Adjective
  • Those observations also revealed that Bennu was once part of a much larger, water-rich parent asteroid that shattered in a catastrophic collision in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The catastrophic exit from Afghanistan was devastating to many veterans who had served there.
    — Azadeh Moaveni, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of catastrophic

Browse Nearby Words

disasters
disastrous
disastrously
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Cite this Entry

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

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