devastating

1 of 2

adjective

dev·​as·​tat·​ing ˈde-və-ˌstā-tiŋ 

1

: causing great damage or harm

a devastating flood/earthquake

a devastating injury

A devastating coastal tsunami could also result from a severe displacement of the San Andreas Fault.

—Gary Sandquist

2

: causing extreme emotional pain

a devastating loss

Even the most banal domestic melodramas, readers come to understand, are experienced as devastating tragedies by children living them for the first time.

—Entertainment Weekly

3

: extremely effective or powerful

a devastating satire

He had a devastating wit and an utter contempt for shoddy work in physics.

—Jeremy Bernstein

devastatingly

ˈde-və-ˌstā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

Some people recover readily from the infection, but in others it becomes disseminated, spreading rapidly and devastatingly from lungs to bones, skin and nervous system

—Lawrence Galton

Postcards from the Edge is a devastatingly savvy, bitingly funny, yet sad movie based on Carrie Fisher's autobiographical novel about Hollywood.

—Jeffrey Lyons

… is portrayed as a devastatingly effective power broker in the Senate.

—Alan Brinkley

devastating

2 of 2

present participle of devastate

Synonyms of devastating

Adjective

• disastrous
• destructive
• devastative
• deadly

Examples of devastating in a Sentence

Adjective

a devastating blow to our morale

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Rangers announced the devastating news on Saturday following a scary injury in which the 30-year-old’s right skate jammed into the post while gliding across his crease in the first period. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026

That status quo has been marked by a drumbeat of devastating fires in recent years and increasing worries about more in the future. — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026

The moment when the couple’s infant child is taken from them by the authorities is devastating, each of them capturing a sense of helpless isolation from themselves, their community and each other. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Fighting escalated late last month, undermining the November 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for devastating

• abdicating
• abrogating
• activating
• actuating
• advocating
• aggravating
• aggregating
• agitating
• allocating
• alternating
• animating
• annotating