devastate

[dev-uh-steyt]

verb (used with object), dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing.

to lay waste; render desolate: The invaders devastated the city.

to overwhelm.

Origin of devastate

1625–35; < Latin dēvastātus laid waste (past participle of dēvastāre), equivalent to dē- de- + vast(āre) to lay waste (akin to vastus empty) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsdev·as·ta·tive, adjectivedev·as·ta·tor, nounun·dev·as·tat·ed, adjective

Synonym study

1. See ravage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for devastator

Again he discovered that the devastator was a microscopic destroyer.
Brave Men and Women|O.E. Fuller
Devastation had fallen upon the devastator, the fortress was completely demolished and no dwelling remained.
The Monarchs of the Main, Volume II (of 3)|Walter Thornbury
It has from time immemorial been known to man in all the countries it inhabits as the devastator of his flocks of sheep.
The Origin of the Werewolf Superstition|Caroline Taylor Stewart
The latter, who knew a good cigar from smoking many bad ones, threw away the devastator and lighted Richard's.
The President|Alfred Henry Lewis

The destroyer of heaven, the devastator of the earth,—such is my majesty.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria|Morris Jastrow

British Dictionary definitions for devastator

devastate

verb (tr)

to lay waste or make desolate; ravage; destroy

to confound or overwhelm, as with grief or shock

Derived Formsdevastation, noundevastative, adjectivedevastator, noun

Word Origin for devastate

C17: from Latin dēvastāre, from de- + vastāre to ravage; related to vastus waste, empty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for devastator

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.