devastated

American

[dev-uh-stey-tid] / ˈdɛv əˌsteɪ tɪd /

adjective

laid waste; made desolate.

After the earthquake there were concerns about asbestos in the rubble of many of the devastated houses.
overwhelmed or shocked, especially by profound loss, disappointment, humiliation, etc..

I’m grateful that no one I knew personally died in the hurricane, but my heart goes out to all those devastated families.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of devastate.

Other Word Forms

undevastated

adjective

Etymology

Origin of devastated

devastate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

"I'm devastated about the loss of three heroic firefighters who died in the line of duty in Western Colorado," he said in a statement.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026

Many will be sent back to war zones and countries devastated by natural disasters.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2026

The death of his wife, Martha, in 1782, when she was only 33, so devastated him that for weeks the sight of their children, now motherless, made him swoon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

Teenager Yenderlin Cabarza waited alone in an emergency room on Thursday, her bones broken by two powerful earthquakes that devastated Venezuela the day before.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

Without Zeitoun there to plug holes as they arose, the house had been devastated.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023