激甚

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 激甚(げきじん) expresses an extremely severe degree and takes 激甚な before a noun.
• Basic usage: It appears in formal contexts such as reports describing areas with severe disaster damage.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Before a noun and at sentence end
  • 激甚な被害 is a noun phrase meaning severe damage, while 被害が激甚だった states that the damage was extremely severe.
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  • It suits a more formal style than the everyday ひどい and strongly emphasizes the seriousness of damage.