devastate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to lay waste; render desolate.
The invaders devastated the city.
-
to overwhelm, as with grief or dismay: Those rumors appeared to have devastated her.
We are devastated by this news and deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of our friend.
Those rumors appeared to have devastated her.
verb
-
to lay waste or make desolate; ravage; destroy
-
to confound or overwhelm, as with grief or shock
Related Words
See ravage.
Other Word Forms
- devastation noun
- devastative adjective
- devastator noun
Etymology
Origin of devastate
First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin dēvastātus “laid waste” (past participle of dēvastāre ), equivalent to dē- + vast(āre) “to lay waste” (akin to vastus “empty”) + -ātus; de-, waste ( def. ), -ate 1
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.
A cutoff of exports would devastate U.S. industries.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
If a manager genuinely believed AI was going to devastate their software book, they could simply stop making new software loans.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
Tens of thousands of people in Mozambique are being rescued as rising waters continue to devastate the southern African nation - the worst flooding in a generation.
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026
Anyone who thinks this new technology isn’t going to devastate vast numbers of knowledge and white-collar jobs across many industries is surely living in a fantasy.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 29, 2025
His tears now devastate me even more than listening to his entire story.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
