Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete To end a comedy
  • verb To regard a bad situation as if it were disastrous or catastrophic

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Artists tend to "catastrophize," meaning they put the worst possible spin on a situation.

    Caridad Pineiro 2010

  • But it's much easier to work on these things in the present moment rather than extrapolate and "catastrophize".

    Sierra Highlands 2009

  • La Petite Coquette! immense pride and joy every time I think of him being told I look “petite” and “skinny” recognizing my tendency to catastrophize the best pharmacy ever

    Archive 2009-08-01 2009

  • La Petite Coquette! immense pride and joy every time I think of him being told I look “petite” and “skinny” recognizing my tendency to catastrophize the best pharmacy ever

    Felix et errabunda XXXII 2009

  • The book offers quizzes so that readers can assess various qualities—such as sociability, neuroticism and the tendency to "catastrophize"—and compare the results with those of Terman's Termites.

    How to Keep Going and Going Laura Landro 2011

  • Since coming out the other side of ppd and no longer have that to catastrophize over, the environment has become my tormentor.

    » Saving the World Without Going Crazy Strocel.com 2009

  • Lester said the program would develop "communication skills, cognitive reforming skills and help soldiers not to catastrophize -- don't think of the worse case scenario about every potential problem."

    Bruce E. Levine: Psychologists Profit on Unending U.S. Wars by Teaching Positive Thinking to Soldiers 2010

  • Lester said the program would develop "communication skills, cognitive reforming skills and help soldiers not to catastrophize -- don't think of the worse case scenario about every potential problem."

    Bruce E. Levine: Psychologists Profit on Unending U.S. Wars by Teaching Positive Thinking to Soldiers 2010

  • It is effective in depression (where people are taught to think about their tendency to catastrophize — "I had a bad date; no one will ever love me because I am worthless and unlovable").

    Training Faulty Brains to Work Better 2009

  • Change the topic to some flaw in the "problem" person, catastrophize it, and change the topic so as to distract from the economic shell game.

    Joe the Plumber... Ann Althouse 2008

Comments

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  • what my father says I tend to do when left to my own pessimism mixed with my rampant imagination

    April 2, 2009

  • "At the University of Toronto, Dr. Mayberg, Zindel Segal and their colleagues first used brain imaging to measure activity in the brains of depressed adults. Some of these volunteers then received paroxetine (the generic name of the antidepressant Paxil), while others underwent 15 to 20 sessions of cognitive-behavior therapy, learning not to catastrophize. That is, they were taught to break their habit of interpreting every little setback as a calamity, as when they conclude

    from a lousy date that no one will ever love them."

    August 2, 2009

  • Both meanings should apply to the Trump presidency.

    April 11, 2019