catastrophic

adjectiveattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//kætəˈstɹɒfɪk//
United States//ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk//
United States/[ˌkæɾəˈstɹɑfɪk]/
Canada//ˌkætəˈstɹɒfɪk//
Canada/[ˌkæɾəˈstɹɒfɪk]/

Of or pertaining to a catastrophe.

adjective

1
Of or pertaining to a catastrophe.
2
Disastrous; ruinous.
The reason why Jon & Kate Plus 8 is such a hot topic is because it might all be a sham. It’s been claimed that Jon has a string of mistresses, that Kate had an affair with her bodyguard and that Baby Number Six is actually a shaved Ewok with a catastrophic heroin addiction. Or something.
Some experts, such as geographer Jared Diamond in his 2005 book, “Collapse,” used Easter Island as a cautionary tale of how the exploitation of limited resources can result in catastrophic population decline, ecological devastation and the destruction of a society through infighting.
3
From which recovery is impossible.
catastrophic failure

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek καταστροφικός (katastrophikós). By surface analysis, catastrophe + -ic.

Forms

comparative: more catastrophic
superlative: most catastrophic

Catalina · A Catalina coupon.catalogue · A systematic list of books, names, pictures, etc.catastrophe · Any large and disastrous event of great significance.

catastrophic · Of or pertaining to a catastrophe.

catch · The act of seizing or capturing.catcher · Someone or something that catches.catching · Infectious, contagious.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.