English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From disaster +‎ -ous, after Middle French desastreux (modern French désastreux; from desastre (modern French désastre, disaster; from des- + astre, a calque of Italian disastro) + -eux), itself after Italian disastroso, from disastro + -oso, from dis- (away, without) (from Latin dis-) + astro (star, planet) (from Latin astrum (star, celestial body), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́στρον (ắstron)).[1]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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disastrous (comparative more disastrous, superlative most disastrous)

  1. Of the nature of a disaster; calamitous.
    Synonyms: cataclysmic, catastrophic; see also Thesaurus:disastrous
    • 2024 August 21, Daniel Falcone, “Trump Was Never a “Moderate” on Foreign Policy”, in Truthout[1]:
      In addition, he was also able to reinforce the unease among progressive Democratic-leaning voters over Clinton’s disastrous pro-interventionist positions, thereby suppressing turnout and encouraging third party support in some key swing states that made the difference in his Electoral College victory.
  2. Foreboding disaster; ill-omened.
    Synonyms: baleful, ill-boding, inauspicious, ominous, sinister; see also Thesaurus:ominous
    Antonyms: auspicious, fortunate; see also Thesaurus:auspicious

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

References

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  1. ^ disastrous, adj.”, in OED Online  , Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.