catastrophic

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
21
Words With Friends
23
Letters
12
Pronunciation
/kætəˈstɹɒfɪk/
See all 7 pronunciations
/kætəˈstɹɒfɪk/ · /ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk/ · [ˌkæɾəˈstɹɑfɪk] · /ˌkætəˈstɹɒfɪk/ · [ˌkæɾəˈstɹɒfɪk] · /kætəˈstɹɔfɪk/ · [kæɾəˈstɹɔfɪk]

Definition of catastrophic

3 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. Of or pertaining to a catastrophe.
See all 3 definitions

adj

  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”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

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

Words you can make from catastrophic

200+ playable · top: CATAPHORIC (19 pts)

Best play cataphoric 19 points

10-letter words

4 words

9-letter words

7 words

8-letter words

44 words

7-letter words

78 words

6-letter words

66 words

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