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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

drastic.

Having a strong or far-reaching effect; extreme, severe.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈdɹæs.tɪk//ˈdrɑːstɪk/UK, rare

  1. Having a strong or far-reaching effect; extreme, severe.

    If our third attempt fails, we may need drastic ideas.

  2. Acting rapidly or violently.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek δρᾰ́ω (drắō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek δρᾶσῐς (drâsĭs) ▲ Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τῐκός (-tĭkós) Ancient Greek δρᾱστῐκός (drāstĭkós)der. English drastic From Ancient Greek δραστικός (drastikós, “active, efficient”), from δρᾶσις (drâsis, “strength, efficacy”), itself from δράω (dráō, “to do”).

noun/ˈdɹæs.tɪk//ˈdrɑːstɪk/UK, rare

  1. A powerful, fast-acting purgative medicine.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek δρᾰ́ω (drắō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek δρᾶσῐς (drâsĭs) ▲ Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τῐκός (-tĭkós) Ancient Greek δρᾱστῐκός (drāstĭkós)der. English drastic From Ancient Greek δραστικός (drastikós, “active, efficient”), from δρᾶσις (drâsis, “strength, efficacy”), itself from δράω (dráō, “to do”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.