Is drastic a negative word ?
Drastic does have a negative connotation to it and usually implies that something is bad, terrible or awful.
The adjective is used to describe something as extreme or severe. You will often here the collocation drastic measures used in business situations. If somebody has to go to drastic measures to achieve their goal, they will do whatever it takes, no matter the consequences of their actions.
On the other hand, the adjective tremendous refers to something that is huge in degree, amount or size. If you can imagine the size of waves during a thunderstorm, they are huge or tremendous.
When used informally, tremendous can refer to somebody or something that is very good. For example, the girl is a tremendous piano player.
Unlike drastic, tremendous does not have a negative connotation.
Below are some more examples of how drastic and tremendous can be used in English:
- The politician took drastic measures to get to where he is today but he upset a lot of people along the way.
- She was surprised by the drastic changes made to her hometown. She had been away for a very long time but she hadn’t expected the town to look so different.
- The drastic and harsh raise in taxes was received by many hostile citizens.
- “Our school has tremendous talent, our student body is one of a kind” the principal boasted to her potential sponsors.
- The tremendous number of protesters took to the streets to fight for their rights.
- The volunteers were a tremendous help at the fundraiser, without them it would have been impossible for the charity to raise so much money for the children’s hospital.
