From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcatastrophicca‧tas‧tro‧phic /ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk◂ $ -ˈstrɑː-/ ●○○ adjective 1 causing a lot of destruction, suffering, or death catastrophic floods2 extremely bad The failure of the talks could have catastrophic consequences. —catastrophically /-li/ adverb