catastrophic
adj.adj. causing a huge amount of damage, suffering, or failure. You use this to describe a situation that is a complete disaster.
adj. causing sudden and great damage or suffering; involving a disastrous event. Often used to describe large-scale failures in systems, environments, or personal circumstances.
The storm caused catastrophic damage to the coastal town.
A catastrophic failure of the cooling system forced the factory to shut down for several months.
The sudden collapse of the major bank had a catastrophic effect on the global economy, leading to years of financial instability.
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek καταστροφικός (katastrophikós). By surface analysis, catastrophe + -ic.
Typically precedes the noun it modifies; often paired with nouns like 'failure', 'damage', 'loss', or 'consequences'.