devastating
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
Gary Sandquist2
: 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
Entertainment Weekly3
: extremely effective or powerful
a devastating satire
He had a devastating wit and an utter contempt for shoddy work in physics.—Jeremy Bernstein
Jeremy Bernstein
devastatingly
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
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
Jeffrey Lyons
… is portrayed as a devastatingly effective power broker in the Senate.
—Alan Brinkley
Alan Brinkley
Examples of devastating in a Sentence
a devastating blow to our morale
Recent Examples on the Web
In my client’s case, DCF’s cruel response to the OCA report was devastating and has caused her tremendous grief.
—Nate Baber, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2025
Those 100-mph-plus winds from Hurricane Milton were devastating.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 30 Mar. 2025
And gambling addiction at any age, as Shaun recalls, can be devastating.
—Ted Koppel, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2025
Endangered whooping cranes also migrate through central Nebraska, and an H5N1 outbreak could be potentially devastating to the species.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Nate Baber, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2025
Those 100-mph-plus winds from Hurricane Milton were devastating.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 30 Mar. 2025
And gambling addiction at any age, as Shaun recalls, can be devastating.
—Ted Koppel, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2025
Endangered whooping cranes also migrate through central Nebraska, and an H5N1 outbreak could be potentially devastating to the species.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
Cite this Entry
“Devastating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastating. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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