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

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

Synonyms

• annihilatory
• calamitous
• cataclysmal
• cataclysmic
• destructive
• devastative
• disastrous
• ruinous

Examples of devastating in a Sentence

a devastating blow to our morale

Recent Examples on the Web

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Music Maker Grant recipients as well as raise funds to benefit the BMAC L.A. Fire Relief Fund, an urgent and immediate relief fund with a focus on Black residents and small businesses of the L.A. area affected by the ongoing and devastating fires. —Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 17 Jan. 2025

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and fighters but say women and children make up more than half of those killed. —Samy Magdy, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025

The donations are meant to support firefighters and efforts to help displaced residents in the wake of catastrophic blazes across the city, the most devastating of which were the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. —Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025

Beyond physical distress, the emotional toll can be just as devastating. —Jenna Ryu, SELF, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1