catastrophize
ca·tas·tro·phize/kəˈtæstɹəfaɪz/verb
catastrophize is spelled C-A-T-A-S-T-R-O-P-H-I-Z-E: 13 letters and 4 syllables (ca·tas·tro·phize). It appears about once in every 81 million words in written English, the 286,585th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, catastrophize means “To regard a bad situation as if it were disastrous or catastrophic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in catastrophize?
| Letters | 13: C-A-T-A-S-T-R-O-P-H-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: ca·tas·tro·phize |
| In writing | about once in every 81 million words; the 286,585th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is catastrophize?
Catastrophize appears about once in every 81 million words in written English, the 286,585th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce catastrophize?
- /kəˈtæstɹəfaɪz/
Catastrophize has 4 syllables, split ca·tas·tro·phize in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-catastrophize.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of catastrophize
- catastrophizes present, singular, he/she/it
- catastrophizing participle, present
- catastrophized participle, past
- catastrophise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does catastrophize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To regard a bad situation as if it were disastrous or catastrophic.
- 2
To expose a behavior pattern of seeking the worst interpretation and magnifying the disagreeable outcomes (of).
- 3
obsoleteTo end a comedy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does catastrophize come from?
From catastrophe + -ize.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).