different between catastrophic vs shattering

English

Etymology

From catastrophe +? -ic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kæt??st??f?k/
• Rhymes: -?f?k

Adjective

catastrophic (comparative more catastrophic, superlative most catastrophic)

1. Of or pertaining to a catastrophe.
2. Disastrous; ruinous.
   • 2009: Stuart Heritage, Hecklerspray, Friday the 22^nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”

     The reason why Jon & Kate Plus 8 is such a hot topic is because it might all be a sham. It’s been claimed that Jon has a string of mistresses, that Kate had an affair with her bodyguard and that Baby Number Six is actually a shaved Ewok with a catastrophic heroin addiction. Or something.

Synonyms

• catastrophal

Antonyms

• anastrophic

Derived terms

Translations

English

Verb

shattering

1. present participle of shatter

Noun

shattering (plural shatterings)

1. The act of something that shatters; the shattered material
   • 1997, J. Wright, Realism and Explanatory Priority (page 226)

     It seems reasonable to conjecture that there is some property that is responsible for all the shatterings, because the operations that have produced the shatterings have all been similar (droppings of glass) […]

Anagrams

• astringeth, straighten