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.
Along with devastating pace, his driving is decisive, committed and cool.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
While your mom may be correct, and your stepdad’s estate may be in order, if she’s wrong, the consequences could be devastating.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Tour de France is done, Tadej Pogacar won for a fifth time, devastating the field, there weren’t a lot of surprises…
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Haiti for decades has suffered from abject poverty, corruption, political instability and natural disasters like a devastating earthquake in 2010.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
And always, always, whatever else she did, whatever fears she deployed, to each she attached a sneak postscript, like devastating news at the end of a letter.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
