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
Gary Sandquist2
: 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
Entertainment Weekly3
: extremely effective or powerful
a devastating satire
He had a devastating wit and an utter contempt for shoddy work in physics.—Jeremy Bernstein
Jeremy Bernstein
devastatingly
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
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
Jeffrey Lyons
… is portrayed as a devastatingly effective power broker in the Senate.
—Alan Brinkley
Alan Brinkley
Examples of devastating in a Sentence
a devastating blow to our morale
Recent Examples on the Web
Experts warn that a failure in Congress to extend the tax credits could be financially devastating for individual policyholders, while also raising health care costs as a whole.
—Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025
But the most devastating part of this injury, to me, comes when Shane is back home with his parents recovering and Ilya texts to check in on him.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Hong Kong — The white wreaths were piled high on the doorsteps of a funeral house in Hong Kong, a stark reminder of a city still laying its dead to rest more than four weeks after a devastating fire.
—Chris Lau, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
But not reaching the playoffs, and having lost quarterback and friend Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending torn ACL late in last week’s defeat, has been devastating.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025
But the most devastating part of this injury, to me, comes when Shane is back home with his parents recovering and Ilya texts to check in on him.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Hong Kong — The white wreaths were piled high on the doorsteps of a funeral house in Hong Kong, a stark reminder of a city still laying its dead to rest more than four weeks after a devastating fire.
—Chris Lau, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
But not reaching the playoffs, and having lost quarterback and friend Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending torn ACL late in last week’s defeat, has been devastating.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
Cite this Entry
“Devastating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastating. Accessed 20 Dec. 2025.
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