English edit

Etymology edit

sub- +‎ catastrophic

Adjective edit

subcatastrophic (not comparable)

  1. Not rising to the level of being catastrophic.
    • 1991, Jay T. Bergstralh, Ellis D. Miner, Mildred Shapley Matthews, Uranus, University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 686:
      Because small impacts are much more numerous than large ones, these subcatastrophic collisions may be an important contributing factor in the evolution of small strength-dominated satellites. Even for gravity-dominated satellites, subcatastrophic collisions could be very important for the evolution of the satellites' surface geology.
    • 2005, Charles Richard Clark, Edward C. Benzel, Cervical Spine Research Society. Editorial Committee, The Cervical Spine (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, →ISBN), page 126:
      Force-displacement plot of a cervical facet capsule failure intension, illustrating the joint failure event and subcatastrophic failures. Also shown are images of the joint's configuration at these failures. Of particular interest are the subcatastrophic failures, in which the overall mechanical integrity is maintained and there are no obvious geometric changes or discontinuities in the capsular ligament.