disastrous

 
Pronunciation: /dɪˈzɑːstrəs/

adjective

  • causing great damage: a disastrous fire swept through the museum
  • informal highly unsuccessful: United made a disastrous start to the season

Derivatives

disastrously

adverb

Origin:

late 16th century (in the sense 'ill-fated'): from French désastreux, from Italian disastroso, from disastro 'disaster'

Spelling help

Remember that disastrous, although it is related to disaster, is spelled -str- in the middle.