devastated
Americanadjective
-
laid waste; made desolate.
After the earthquake there were concerns about asbestos in the rubble of many of the devastated houses.
-
overwhelmed or shocked, especially by profound loss, disappointment, humiliation, etc..
I’m grateful that no one I knew personally died in the hurricane, but my heart goes out to all those devastated families.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of devastated
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths," the petition, filed Monday, says.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
“This was a war game in a residential neighborhood recently devastated by catastrophic fire that took place in a weeknight, in the middle of the night.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
His parents and sister were in shock, and his wife, Erika, was utterly devastated.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
“I was pretty devastated when it initially closed.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
All across southern England houses and villages were devastated, large buildings were swept away, farm animals were drowned, and as for people, the number of missing or dead was, for the time being, uncountable.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
