disastrous
/dɪˈzɑːstrəs
/adjective
1Causing great damage: a disastrous fire swept through the museum...
- And then humans return, and the two cultures clash with potentially disastrous consequences.
- To entrust such commercial affairs to a non-executive board "has potentially disastrous consequences".
- Such a war can only have the most disastrous consequences.
Synonyms
catastrophic, calamitous, cataclysmic, tragic;
devastating, ravaging, ruinous, harmful, injurious, detrimental, adverse;
dire, terrible, awful, shocking, appalling, dreadful, grievous, horrible, black, dark, bad;
unfortunate, unlucky, ill-fated, ill-starred, inauspicious, unfavourable
1.1 informal Highly unsuccessful: United made a disastrous start to the season...
- My parents' marriage was not ideal but not disastrous, and certainly did not make my childhood unhappy.
- After that disastrous start Wicklow fought back well.
- In all, a disastrous start to a marketing concept clearly executed by greedy fools.
Origin
Late 16th century (in the sense 'ill-fated'): from French désastreux, from Italian disastroso, from disastro 'disaster'.