devastated

adjective

dev·​as·​tat·​ed ˈde-və-ˌstā-təd 

1

: brought to a state of ruin or destruction

Dr. Dawdy, a 38-year-old assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, is one of the more unusual relief workers among the thousands who have come to the devastated expanses of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

—John Schwartz

I present here a steady flow model for the blast dynamics and propose that through much of the devastated area the blast was a supersonic flow of a complex multiphase (solid, liquid, vapour) mixture.

—Susan Werner Kieffer

2

: emotionally shattered or distraught

Doug never called. He dumped me for the cheerleader, and I was, in the parlance of teen-age romance, absolutely devastated.

—Marialisa Calta

Mr. Jacoby was devastated; he felt he was a proven winner and should not be yanked for one bad half.

—Ira Berkow

Examples of devastated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To secure a stable and unified country, urgent and sustained regional and international support will be needed to help Syrians restore order, establish a civilian government, encourage reconciliation and transitional justice, and start rebuilding a devastated country. —Natasha Hall, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2024

As Matar shares the group’s astounding, exuberant videos shot amid devastated landscapes, Zuiater finds hope and resistance in their activities. —Alissa Simon, Variety, 7 Dec. 2024

Syrian government forces battled the rebels for months in 2016 to reclaim the devastated city. —Greg Myre, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024

The devastated family founded a charity in his name, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, that embraced a mission to benefit those with intellectual disabilities. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1