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.
"Devastating droughts and heatwaves are no longer rare. Some summers, it's not separate waves we face, but one long heatwave stretching from June through August. This is now the new normal," he said.
From BBC • Dec. 17, 2025
Devastating flooding has overwhelmed southern Thailand this week, particularly in Hat Yai, near the border with Malaysia, where large areas were submerged, pushing residents to seek shelter on rooftops.
From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025
Since the explosion, the state fire marshal’s office suspended the pyrotechnic licenses of Kenneth Chee from Devastating Pyrotechnics and Craig Cutright of Blackstar Fireworks, who were linked to the site.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025
Devastating seizures in young children were the impetus for the compensation program.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025
Devastating as the destruction was, it would be the human stories and the human suffering that would best define what would become known as the Great Molasses Flood.
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.
