devastate
- to lay waste; render desolate: The invaders devastated the city.
- to overwhelm.
Origin of devastate
Synonym study
Related Words for devastate
ruin, raze, ravage, wreck, smash, desolate, raid, level, pillage, trash, sack, despoil, plunder, devour, spoil, total, waste, desecrate, depredate, spoliateExamples from the Web for devastate
Contemporary Examples of devastate
Grotesque profiteering aside, life release ceremonies can devastate the eco-system.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a new offensive, he could devastate Ukrainian forces.
A Grad is a multiple rocket launcher designed to devastate a defined but extensive area.
Kenneth recognizes the terrible truths of our existence: that gun violence will continue to devastate and degrade everyone.
They'd devastate priorities like education, energy, and medical research.
Full Text and Video of President Obama's 2013 State of the Union AddressJustin Green
February 13, 2013
Historical Examples of devastate
The gale hurried on to devastate fresh fields and pastures new.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
Of what use to him would it be to devastate this little realm?
The World BeyondRaymond King Cummings
That stream when it overfloods will devastate its borders and destroy its bridges.
PsychotherapyHugo Mnsterberg
He grants us lands for pastures and abodes To devastate them by his iron roads.
Custer, and Other Poems.Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Let her arise, not to devastate and to conquer, but to reëstablish the reign of peace and law.
America FirstVarious
devastate
- to lay waste or make desolate; ravage; destroy
- to confound or overwhelm, as with grief or shock
Word Origin for devastate
Word Origin and History for devastate
1630s, perhaps a back-formation from devastation. Apparently not common until 19c.; earlier verb form devast is attested from 1530s, from Middle French devaster. Related: devastated; devastating.