- 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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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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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.
The deal helped stave off fears of devastating losses for the city’s most iconic industry from Paramount following through on a threat to move its headquarters out of state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Over three days at the U.S. attorney’s office in Honolulu, Kao laid out in devastating detail how his operation worked.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
State political leaders worry it could be devastating for queer nightlife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Three in every 100 women suffered serious tearing injuries requiring emergency surgery in the first half of this year, something party leader Sir Ed Davey said was a "devastating indictment of our NHS maternity services".
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Death-Cast did not call these three Plutos because they aren’t dying today, but their fourth did receive the alert and that’s just as devastating.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
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.
