catastrophic Syllabification: (cat·a·stroph·ic)Pronunciation: /ˌkatəˈsträfik/Translate catastrophic | into German | into Italian Definition of catastrophic adjective 1involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering:a catastrophic earthquake involving a sudden and large-scale alteration in the state of something:the body undergoes catastrophic collapse toward the state of a black hole of or relating to geological catastrophism. 2extremely unfortunate or unsuccessful:catastrophic mismanagement of the economyDerivatives catastrophicallyPronunciation: /-ik(ə)lē/ adverb catastrophic in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of catastrophic in the British & World English dictionary