devastate

verb

SayDEV-uh-staytUK/ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/AUS/ˈdev.ə.stæɪt/

Formsdevastates, devastating, devastated

4 meanings of devastate

1
verbtransitive
To destroy most of the buildings, land, or trees across a large area.
Like a fire burning down a whole street of houses.
A big flood can devastate a whole town in hours.
The storm devastated farms across the area.
Similardestroy, ravage, wreck, ruin, flatten
Oppositerebuild, restore
2
verbtransitive
To make someone feel deep grief or shock.
Like having the ground fall away under your feet.
Losing the final game devastated the young players.
Bad news like this can devastate a whole family.
Similarshatter, crush, distress, overwhelm, destroy
Oppositecomfort, console, delight, cheer
3
verbtransitive
To break something so badly that it cannot be fixed and must be replaced.
Like dropping a glass so it shatters and can't be put back together.
The fire devastated the building, so they had to tear it down.
One bad crash can devastate a car beyond repair.
Similardestroy, ruin, wreck, cripple, sink
Oppositerestore, save, rescue, salvage
4
verbtransitive
To completely break apart someone's whole set of ideas or beliefs.
Like knocking down a tall tower of blocks all at once.
The test results devastated his belief that he was always right.
Facts like these can devastate old ideas about the world.
Similardemolish, destroy, shatter, overturn, discredit
Oppositeconfirm, support, vindicate, corroborate

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of devastate apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Latin dēvastō, meaning "to destroy or lay waste." It was first used in 1638.