Drastic

How to spell drastic

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce drastic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does drastic mean?

1. adjectiveExtreme, severe, or far-reaching in effect, especially as a response to a difficult situation.

Drastic in a sentence

• The company took drastic measures to cut its mounting debts.

• A drastic change in diet helped her lower her blood pressure.

Where does drastic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word comes from the Greek drastikos, meaning 'active' or 'effective', which was built on the verb dran, 'to do' or 'to act'. The same root sits behind the word 'drama', which originally meant simply 'a thing done' or 'an action'. English first adopted 'drastic' in the seventeenth century as a medical term for a purgative or medicine that acted strongly and forcefully on the body. From that idea of a powerful, vigorous effect it broadened into its modern sense of any action that is extreme, severe, or far-reaching. The spelling stays close to the Greek source, so the only real trap is remembering the single 's' and the plain '-ic' ending rather than doubling letters.

How the word is built

• drast- (from Greek dran: to do, act)
• -ic (adjective-forming suffix)