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

The devastated couple campaigned on social media for the return of Daisy, even getting the likes of actor Tom Hardy involved, and set up a petition to tackle pet theft. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025

Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR Sunday's trip was a rare glimpse for foreign journalists on the ground in the devastated Palestinian territory. —Jane Arraf, NPR, 14 Feb. 2025

Many voters seem to believe the strongman president is best placed to rebuild their devastated cities. —Emily Wither, The Dial, 13 Feb. 2025

The deal has quieted airstrikes and rockets and allowed for a surge of aid into tiny, devastated Gaza. —Isabel Debre, Sam Mednick, TIME, 25 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for devastated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated