devastate
verb
dev·as·tate
ˈde-və-ˌstāt 
devastated; devastating
1
: to bring to ruin or desolation by violent action
a country devastated by war
The typhoon devastated the island.
2
: to reduce to chaos, disorder, or helplessness : overwhelm
devastated by grief
Her wisecrack devastated the class.
Examples of devastate in a Sentence
The flood devastated the town.
The disease has devastated the area's oak tree population.
The hurricane left the island completely devastated.
Recent Examples on the Web
The attack devastated the local community, which lost 20 first-grade students and six school staffers to yet another act of seemingly inexplicable gun violence.
—
Donald J. Mihalek, ABC News, 20 Apr. 2024
The species can devastate agricultural crops as their populations increase.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2024
Much of their home country had been devastated by Hurricane Mitch, and Iris and her late husband were hoping for a more stable place to raise their son.
—Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
Advertisement In August 2021, the Richard Spring fire tore across 171,000 acres, devastating much of his ranch and nearly torching both of his family’s houses.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
War erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), devastating the country’s infrastructure, prompting warnings of famine and displacing millions of people inside and outside the country.
—Reuters, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
It was passed amid an escalating Russian campaign that has devastated Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks.
—Samya Kullab and Illia Novikov, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2024
Penelope was also devastated after overhearing that her crush, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) would never court her (though Season 3 focuses on their burgeoning love story).
—Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Nasser Hospital, the main medical site in the city, was still standing, but barely, its interior devastated.
—Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Donald J. Mihalek, ABC News, 20 Apr. 2024
The species can devastate agricultural crops as their populations increase.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2024
Much of their home country had been devastated by Hurricane Mitch, and Iris and her late husband were hoping for a more stable place to raise their son.
—Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
Advertisement In August 2021, the Richard Spring fire tore across 171,000 acres, devastating much of his ranch and nearly torching both of his family’s houses.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
War erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), devastating the country’s infrastructure, prompting warnings of famine and displacing millions of people inside and outside the country.
—Reuters, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
It was passed amid an escalating Russian campaign that has devastated Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks.
—Samya Kullab and Illia Novikov, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2024
Penelope was also devastated after overhearing that her crush, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) would never court her (though Season 3 focuses on their burgeoning love story).
—Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Nasser Hospital, the main medical site in the city, was still standing, but barely, its interior devastated.
—Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devastate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Devastate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastate. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
devastate
verb
dev·as·tate
ˈdev-ə-ˌstāt
devastated; devastating
1
: to reduce to ruin : lay waste
2
: overwhelm sense 2, overpower
devastated by grief
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