- 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
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Hatchet
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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.
"Triple lock is vital to ward off pensioner poverty" reads the Sunday Express's headline, adding: "Campaigners say devastating new report on plight of UK elderly proves lifeline must stay".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Croatia is one of several European nations suffering devastating wildfires, after a summer of extreme heat and dry conditions.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Latiao were created in Pingjiang in 1998 as an emergency staple food, after devastating floods wiped out the local soybean crop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“As you can imagine, this was devastating news for SW. The man she believed would spend the rest of his life in prison had been released,” Fryoff said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
It might have been pretty, she thought, if it wasn’t all so devastating.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
