dev·as·tat·ing

[dev-uh-stey-ting]
adjective
1.
tending or threatening to devastate: a devastating fire.
2.
satirical, ironic, or caustic in an effective way: a devastating portrayal of society.

Origin:
1625–35; devastate + -ing2

dev·as·tat·ing·ly, adverb
un·dev·as·tat·ing, adjective
un·dev·as·tat·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged

dev·as·tate

[dev-uh-steyt]
verb (used with object), dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing.
1.
to lay waste; render desolate: The invaders devastated the city. destroy, sack, despoil, raze, ruin, level. create, erect, develop.
2.
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

dev·as·ta·tive, adjective
dev·as·ta·tor, noun
un·dev·as·tat·ed, adjective


1. See ravage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To devastating
00:10
Devastating is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
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.
Collins
World English Dictionary
devastate (ˈdɛvəˌsteɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
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) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
extremely effective in a destructive way: a devastating war; a devastating report on urban deprivation
 
devastatingly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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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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