devastating

to lay waste; render desolate: The invaders devastated the city. Synonyms: destroy, sack, despoil, raze, ruin, level. Antonyms: create, erect, develop.

to overwhelm.

Origin:
1625–35; < Latin dēvastātus laid waste (past participle of dēvastāre), equivalent to dē- de- + vast(āre) to lay waste (akin to vastus empty) + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

dev·as·ta·tive, adjective

dev·as·ta·tor, noun

un·dev·as·tat·ed, adjective

Synonym Study
1. See ravage.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Devastating is always a great word to know.

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a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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World English Dictionary

devastate (ˈdɛvəˌsteɪt)

—vb
1.	to lay waste or make desolate; ravage; destroy
2.	to confound or overwhelm, as with grief or shock

[C17: from Latin dēvastāre, from de- + vastāre to ravage; related to vastus waste, empty]

devas'tation

—n

'devastative

—*adj*

'devastator

—n

devastating (ˈdɛvəˌsteɪtɪŋ)

—*adj*
	extremely effective in a destructive way: a devastating war; a devastating report on urban deprivation

devastatingly

—*adv*

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

devastate

1630s, probably a back-formation from devastation, but apparently not common until 19c.; earlier verb form devast is attested from 1530s, from Fr. devaster. Related: devastated.

devastating

1630s, from devastate. Trivial use by 1889.

Example sentences

If it happens for the first time when you're older, it can be devastating.

As devastating as this volcanic torrent was for the creatures it buried, it

would become a boon for paleontology.

When sea levels rise rapidly, as they have been doing, even a small increase

can have devastating effects on coastal habitats.

But if the flu mutates into a form that can jump from human to human, the

outcome would be devastating.

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fatal killer ruinous scorched-earth policy wasteful

Matching Quote

"The War was decided in the first twenty days of fighting, and all that happened afterwards consisted in battles which, however formidable and devastating, were but desperate and vain appeals against the decision of Fate."

-Winston Churchill

devastating

dev·as·tat·ing

dev·as·tate