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
- devastatingly adverb
- undevastating adjective
- undevastatingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of devastating
First recorded in 1625–35; devastat(e) + -ing 2
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.
EPA chief Lee Zeldin visited Los Angeles with the head of the Small Business Administration to address what they called unacceptable delays in granting building permits after last year’s devastating fires.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Feeling like this milestone was within reach, only to have it slip away because of the pressure you’re being put under to choose another property, is devastating.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
He warned that the long-term health consequences of the pollution are "devastating".
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
The splitter and its devastating sinking action had been the defining pitch of the 1980s.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
I’d had close friends go through devastating breakups, brought on by small problems left unattended or lapses in communication that led eventually to irreparable rifts.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
