Any large and disastrous event of great significance. / (insurance) A disaster beyond expectations. / (narratology) The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement.

plural of catastrophe / plural of catastrophë

Of or pertaining to a catastrophe. / Disastrous; ruinous. / From which recovery is impossible.

In a catastrophic manner, or to a catastrophic extent; disastrously.

To regard a bad situation as if it were disastrous or catastrophic. / (obsolete) To end a comedy.

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of catastrophize

(geology) The doctrine that sudden catastrophes, rather than continuous change, cause the main features of the Earth's crust.

plural of catastrophization

The act or process of catastrophizing.

(rare) Catastrophic.