1
as in to ravage
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
the city was devastated, first by the earthquake and then by fires
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Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
the explosion devastated an entire city block
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to overwhelm
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
we were devastated by the awful news of his death
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as in disastrous
causing or tending to cause destruction
a devastating blow to our morale
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in ravaging
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
the city was devastated, first by the earthquake and then by fires
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
the explosion devastated an entire city block
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in overwhelming
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
we were devastated by the awful news of his death
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of devastate
Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
While the conflict devastated numerous supply lines worldwide, Britain had secured its potash lifeline.
— Made By History, Time, 15 Apr. 2025
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2025
The Buccaneers' defense, armed with Gruden's insights and featuring future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch, overwhelmed Oakland's offense in a devastating 48-21 defeat.
—Omaid Homayun, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastate
Verb
The war in Gaza has devastated the territory since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
While the conflict devastated numerous supply lines worldwide, Britain had secured its potash lifeline.
— Made By History, Time, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
This detonation will spew material at the other white dwarf, triggering the same devastating sequence.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2025
The Buccaneers' defense, armed with Gruden's insights and featuring future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch, overwhelmed Oakland's offense in a devastating 48-21 defeat.
—Omaid Homayun, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devastate
Adjective
-
But what could have been a disastrous situation from the jump has the looks of becoming a positive for Báez and the Tigers.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Apple had seemed to resolve this with its Private Cloud Compute, but then its disastrous Apple Intelligence delays made all that somewhat academic for the time being at least.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The Los Angeles region is rebuilding two communities after the most destructive wildfires in Southern California’s history.—
Laurel Rosenhall,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Back-to-back-to-back deadly and destructive tornado outbreaks in recent weeks have put a punctuation mark on what’s been an unusually active start to the year for thunderstorms in the United States.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN Money,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what led to the deadly incident.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Law enforcement respond to a deadly shooting at a town house complex in Spotsylvania County, Va., on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Devastate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devastate. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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