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
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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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.
In 1998, the Big Tobacco companies were forced, finally, to sign an apparently devastating master settlement agreement with the states to pay for all the damage that their products had done to U.S. citizens.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
“It’s rare for such a broad coalition to unite around any single cause in California, but it reflects the potentially devastating impact of this measure on healthcare, education, and our state’s economy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
It was only after Enlli had further tests when a scan showed a cyst in her pelvis that the teenager from Caernarfon, Gwynedd, was given the devastating news she had ovarian cancer.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
If a CEO bends the rules, he added, “that sends a devastating message to the people inside the organization because it shows that, well, if he can do that, I can do that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
It might have been pretty, she thought, if it wasn’t all so devastating.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
