devastate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to lay waste; render desolate.
The invaders devastated the city.
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to overwhelm, as with grief or dismay: Those rumors appeared to have devastated her.
We are devastated by this news and deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of our friend.
Those rumors appeared to have devastated her.
verb
-
to lay waste or make desolate; ravage; destroy
-
to confound or overwhelm, as with grief or shock
Related Words
See ravage.
Other Word Forms
- devastation noun
- devastative adjective
- devastator noun
Etymology
Origin of devastate
First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin dēvastātus “laid waste” (past participle of dēvastāre ), equivalent to dē- + vast(āre) “to lay waste” (akin to vastus “empty”) + -ātus; de-, waste ( def. ), -ate 1
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.
Alice, not her real name, said she was devastated by the news.
From BBC
If upheld, this order could apply to “tens of thousands of children born every month, “ they said, “devastating families around the country.”
From Los Angeles Times
The splitter and its devastating sinking action had been the defining pitch of the 1980s.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was "devastated" by the allegations against Chavez and her memory of him was now "painful".
From BBC
I ask, but as I do I notice that the nameplate beside Mr. Harris’s door no longer says “Mr. George Harris,” and the devastating answer to her presence in the hallway becomes clear.
From Literature
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.
