What does "catastrophic" mean?

1. (causing great damage) causing a lot of damage or suffering, often very suddenly. 2. (total failure) describing a complete and terrible failure from which it is hard to recover.

How do you use "catastrophic"?

Often used to modify nouns like 'failure', 'loss', or 'consequences'. Common in engineering and computing to describe a system that stops working entirely.

catastrophic

adj.

US //ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk// UK //kˌætɐstɹˈɒfɪk// cat·a·stroph·ic

1 causing great damage (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

causing a lot of damage or suffering, often very suddenly.

involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering; often used in environmental, economic, or personal contexts.

Example

The heavy rains caused a catastrophic flood that destroyed many homes.

Example

The sudden collapse of the dam led to catastrophic flooding in the valley, displacing thousands of residents within a matter of hours.

Usage

Often used to modify nouns like 'failure', 'loss', or 'consequences'.
- disastrous
- calamitous
- ruinous
- beneficial
- fortunate
2 total failure (adj.)
C1 Advanced Technical Technical

describing a complete and terrible failure from which it is hard to recover.

denoting a failure that is total and typically irreversible; frequently applied to mechanical or systemic breakdowns.

Example

The rocket suffered a catastrophic engine failure shortly after it launched.

Example

The IT department warned that a catastrophic server failure would result in the permanent loss of all unencrypted customer data.

Usage

Common in engineering and computing to describe a system that stops working entirely.

Teacher's tip

In technical contexts, this implies the system cannot be repaired or resumed without a total reset.
- minor
- partial

Origin

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