dev·as·tate

(dĕv′ə-stāt′)

tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates

1. To lay waste; destroy.

2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark.

[Latin dēvāstāre, dēvāstāt- : dē-, de- + vāstāre, to lay waste (from vāstus, empty, desolate; see euə- in Indo-European roots).]

dev′as·tat′ing·ly adv.

dev′as·ta′tion n.

dev′as·ta′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

devastating

(ˈdɛvəˌsteɪtɪŋ)

adj

extremely effective in a destructive way: a devastating war; a devastating report on urban deprivation.

ˈdevasˌtatingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dev•as•tat•ing

(ˈdɛv əˌsteɪ tɪŋ)

adj.

1. tending or having the power to devastate.

2. satirical, ironic, or caustic in an effective way: a devastating portrayal of society.

[1625–35]

dev′as•tat`ing•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	devastating - making light of; "afire with annihilating invective"; "a devastating portrait of human folly"; "to compliments inflated I've a withering reply"- W.S.Gilbert annihilating, withering disrespectful - exhibiting lack of respect; rude and discourteous; "remarks disrespectful of the law"; "disrespectful in the presence of his parents"; "disrespectful toward his teacher"
	2.	devastating - wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction; "possessing annihilative power"; "a devastating hurricane"; "the guns opened a withering fire" annihilating, annihilative, withering destructive - causing destruction or much damage; "a policy that is destructive to the economy"; "destructive criticism"
	3.	devastating - physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination; "a crushing blow"; "a crushing rejection"; "bone-crushing" crushing destructive - causing destruction or much damage; "a policy that is destructive to the economy"; "destructive criticism"

devastating

adjective

1. destructive, damaging, catastrophic, harmful, detrimental, pernicious, ruinous, calamitous, cataclysmic, deleterious, injurious, maleficent the devastating force of the floods

2. traumatic, shocking, upsetting, disturbing, painful, distressing, scarring The diagnosis was devastating. She had cancer.

3. impressive, moving, striking, touching, affecting, grand, powerful, exciting, dramatic, stirring, awesome, gee-whizz (slang) the most devastating performance of his career

4. savage, cutting, overwhelming, withering, overpowering, satirical, incisive, sardonic, caustic, vitriolic, trenchant, mordant his devastating criticism of the Prime Minister

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

مَسَبِّبٌ لِدِمَارٍ هَائِلمُكْتَسِح، مُجْتاح، غامِر

pustošivýzničujícíničivý

ødelæggendefortvivlende

verheerend

συντριπτικός

devastador tremendo abrumador demoledor

tuhoisa

dévastateur foudroyant

razoran

pusztító

yfiròyrmandi

devastante disastroso distruttivo

さんざんな

황폐시키는

vernietigend

knusende overveldende sterk

niszczycielski

devastador

опустошительный

ničivý

förkrossande

ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดความเสียหายอย่างมาก

mahvediciyıkıcı

tàn phá

毁灭性的令人震惊的

devastating

[ˈdevəsteɪtɪŋ] ADJ

1. (= destructive) [flood, storm, consequence] → devastador; [attack] → demoledor
nuclear war would be devastating for Europe → una guerra nuclear tendría un efecto devastador sobre Europa

2. (= crushing) [blow, loss] → tremendo; [argument, opposition, logic, defeat] → aplastante; [news] → terrible; [criticism, report] → demoledor; [wit] → apabullante
the devastating news that she had cancer → la terrible noticia de que tenía cáncer
the news is devastating → la noticia es un golpe tremendo or durísimo
a strike would be devastating to the economy → una huelga sería un golpe tremendo para la economía

3. (= stunning) [beauty, woman, charm] → irresistible

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

devastating

[ˈdɛvəsteɪtɪŋ] adj [blow, impact, effect] → dévastateur/trice; [floods, earthquake, war, fire] → dévastateur/trice; [news] → accablant(e)
to have a devastating effect on sth → avoir un effet dévastateur sur qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

devastating

adj

(= destructive) consequence, war, attack, storm, disease → verheerend; to be devastating to or for something, to have a devastating effect on something → verheerende Folgen für etw haben

(fig) effect → schrecklich; news → niederschmetternd; criticism, report, attack, performance → unschlagbar; defeat → vernichtend; woman, wit → umwerfend (inf); a devastating blow/loss → ein vernichtender Schlag/Verlust; to be devastating to or for somebody → jdn niederschmettern; to be in devastating form → in unschlagbarer Form sein

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

devastating

[ˈdɛvəˌsteɪtɪŋ] adj (flood, storm) → devastatore/trice; (news, effect) → micidiale; (beauty) → travolgente

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

devastate

(ˈdevəsteit) verb

1. to leave in ruins. The fire devastated the countryside.

2. to overwhelm (a person) with grief. She was devastated by the terrible news.

ˈdevastating adjective

overwhelming. a devastating flood; The news was devastating.

devastating

→ مَسَبِّبٌ لِدِمَارٍ هَائِل pustošivý ødelæggende verheerend συντριπτικός devastador tuhoisa dévastateur razoran devastante さんざんな 황폐시키는 vernietigend knusende niszczycielski devastador опустошительный förkrossande ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดความเสียหายอย่างมาก yıkıcı tàn phá 毁灭性的

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

THROUGH massacres of each other's citizens China and the United States had been four times plunged into devastating wars, when, in the year 1994, arose a Philosopher in Madagascar, who laid before the Governments of the two distracted countries the following MODUS VIVENDI:

View in context

"A devastating sickness has fallen on my village, and all my wives are dying," yelled Deesa, really in tears this time.

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The wild-ox revelled in dense herbage that often concealed his whole body; gray, black, and yellow elephants of the most gigantic size burst headlong, like a living hurricane, through the forests, breaking, rending, tearing down, devastating every thing in their path; upon the woody slopes of the hills trickled cascades and springs flowing northward; there, too, the hippopotami bathed their huge forms, splashing and snorting as they frolicked in the water, and lamantines, twelve feet long, with bodies like seals, stretched themselves along the banks, turning up toward the sun their rounded teats swollen with milk.

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After that we will destroy the city itself and march through the Land of Oz, burning and devastating as we go."

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After waiting only forty seconds this time, I spread my arms abroad and thundered out the devastating syllables of this word of words:

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Jaggers, in the same devastating strain: "What does this fellow want?"

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Flat, offering nothing but a tiny bay for the convenience of embarkation, and under the protection of the governor, who went shares with them, smugglers made use of it as a provisional entrepot , at the expense of not killing the game or devastating the garden.

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I forget which was the first distemper I plunged into - some fearful, devastating scourge, I know - and, before I had glanced half down the list of "premonitory symptoms," it was borne in upon me that I had fairly got it.

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If love is a devastating fire which melts the whole being into one mountain torrent, Mary was no more in love with Denham than she was in love with her poker or her tongs.

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HS2 has had a "devastating" impact on life in a Staffordshire village, with homes bought up and set to be bulldozed to make way for the controversial line.

Our beautiful village will never be the same

Leon's family said: "Leon and Michael were the best of friends and to lose both in such tragic circumstances is truly devastating."

Crash-death teenagers 'best friends'

The devastating floods in Kerala have left over 300 dead in a fortnight and displaced one million people.

PM Imran expresses deep grief over loss of lives in India floods