- present participle of devastate.
devastating
Americanadjective
-
tending or threatening to devastate.
a devastating fire.
-
satirical, ironic, or caustic in an effective way.
a devastating portrayal of society.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of devastating
First recorded in 1625–35; devastat(e) + -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's shocking and distressing is devastating. Watching the local ice cream shop burn to the ground would be devastating to many neighborhood kids. Incredibly destructive events like earthquakes are devastating, although anything that's tragic, even on a personal level, can also be devastating. It's also used informally to mean incredibly affecting or impressive, like a photographer's devastating images of urban poverty. This meaning came into use in the late 1800s — before that, devastating came right from the Latin word devastare, "to lay waste completely."
Vocabulary lists containing devastating
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Hatchet
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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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.
The good news is that devastating margin calls generally don’t happen to mutual funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
In addition to getting divorced after the Fox 11 job, she was later sideswiped by financial woes and a devastating health scare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Young’s searing memoir, “The Wound Is Where the Light Enters,” chronicles this bitter childhood and its devastating consequences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Her government’s handling of a devastating earthquake in June has added to the discontent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
The issue of individual rights versus the common good resurfaced in a major way in the 1980s with the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
