Word
disastrous
Meanings
Causing very serious harm, damage, or failure.
Extremely unsuccessful or leading to a major setback.
Definition
Causing great harm, damage, or failure.
If something is disastrous, it leads to very bad results and often causes serious damage or failure. It is much stronger than simply saying something is "bad" or "unfortunate." People use it for events, decisions, or situations that have severe negative consequences. It can describe both large public events and major personal setbacks.
Examples
- The new rollout was disastrous, because the system crashed repeatedly during peak hours.
- I made a disastrous choice of words in the meeting, and the tone changed immediately.
- She faced a disastrous delay when her connecting flight was cancelled and no alternatives were available.
- They had a disastrous weekend trip after their car broke down far from the nearest town.
Common mistake
Learners often overuse "disastrous" for minor problems; reserve it for very serious damage or major failure.
More at C1 level
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- xenophobia Xenophobia is a strong dislike or fear of people from other countries or cultures.
- genocide Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular group in order to …
- conundrum A conundrum is a confusing and difficult problem to solve.
- pretentious Trying to seem more important, intelligent, or cultured than you really are.
More adjectives
- agnostic An agnostic is someone who does not claim to know whether God exists.
- pragmatic Pragmatic means focused on practical results rather than ideals or theories.
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- cynical Cynical describes believing that people are mainly motivated by self-interest and not sincere.
- apathetic Apathetic means showing little or no interest, concern, or enthusiasm.