DRASTIC

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does drastic mean? 

• DRASTIC (adjective)
  The adjective DRASTIC has 1 sense:

1. forceful and extreme and rigorous

  Familiarity information: DRASTIC used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DRASTIC (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Forceful and extreme and rigorous

Context example:

drastic measures

Similar:

forceful (characterized by or full of force or strength (often but not necessarily physical))

 Context examples 

Removing ERBB3 from the cell has a drastic effect on ERBB2 mediated signaling and downstream effectors.

(ERBB2 Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

HIV infection leads to drastic declines in CD4 T helper cells, in part through apoptosis of uninfected cells.

(HIV-I Nef in Apoptosis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

In severe cases, teens who are bullied may feel they need to take drastic measures or react violently.

(Bullying, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

These mismatched hares showed up at the same time that climate modelers were announcing consistent and drastic decreases in seasonal snowfall across the Northern Hemisphere.

(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)

It’s possible to send diabetes into remission using fairly drastic measures such as intensive weight loss programmes and extreme calorie restriction.

(Type 2 diabetes remission possible with ‘achievable’ weight loss, University of Cambridge)

Croton oil was used as a drastic purgative agent, but is now mostly used as a standard irritant in pharmacological research.

(Croton Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

By using basic physical principles to understand the relationship between the atmosphere, raindrop size and rainfall intensity, we have shown that Mars would have seen some pretty big raindrops that would have been able to make more drastic changes to the surface than the earlier fog-like droplets, said Ralph Lorenz of John Hopkins APL.

(Heavy Rain May Have Once Fallen on Mars, VOA)

The new research results forecast that at current carbon dioxide emission rates, the depth at which some shelled organisms can survive will shrink from an average of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) to just 150 meters (492 feet) by the year 2100, a drastic reduction in habitat.

(Marine organisms in Southern Ocean will face shallower zone for life, National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Penn State and other institutions discovered a drastic drop in organic material preserved in sections of core samples from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, a global warming event 55.5 million years ago that's considered the best analog for modern climate change.

(Clues found on how soils may respond to climate change, National Science Foundation)