catastrophically
壊滅的に
解説 Definition
壊滅的で取り返しのつかないほどひどい様子で。大惨事のように。
Catastrophically means in an extremely bad way that causes great damage, failure, or disaster. It is used when the result is much worse than a normal problem or mistake. The word is common in serious reports, warnings, and descriptions of major failure.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
まず catastrophic を知っていれば、その副詞形が catastrophically。語尾の -ally は「〜な形で」と考えると整理しやすいです。意味も単なる badly ではなく、catastrophe（大惨事）級にひどく、取り返しがつかない感じ。fail catastrophically, go catastrophically wrong のように、計画・機械・交渉などが『完全に破綻する』場面で出やすい語です。very badly より一段重く、結果の深刻さまで含む語だと覚えると残ります。
If you know `catastrophic`, then `catastrophically` is just its adverb form. Link it to `catastrophe`, so you remember not just `badly` but `disastrously`, with very serious results. Strong collocations like `fail catastrophically` and `go catastrophically wrong` help it stay in memory.
例文
The bridge catastrophically collapsed during the earthquake, blocking the only escape route.
地震で橋が壊滅的に崩壊し、唯一の避難経路が塞がれた。
The company catastrophically mismanaged its finances and went bankrupt within a year.
その会社は財務管理を致命的に誤り、1年以内に破産した。
The experiment failed catastrophically when the reactor overheated.
原子炉が過熱した際、実験は壊滅的に失敗した。
catastrophically の類義語・関連語
catastrophically の語源・成り立ち Etymology
catastrophically は catastrophic + -ally でできた副詞です。catastrophe はギリシャ語 katastrophē「転覆」← kata-「下へ」+ strephein「回す」にさかのぼり、catastrophe や catastrophic と並べると、「ひっくり返るほど壊滅的に」の感覚で覚えられます。
Catastrophically comes from catastrophic, which comes from catastrophe plus the adverb ending -ally. Catastrophe goes back to Greek katastrophe, meaning "overturning" or "sudden end," from kata- "down" and strephein "to turn." The sense developed from a literal turning over to the idea of complete disaster, seen also in catastrophe and catastrophic.
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