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
Synonyms
Examples of devastating in a Sentence
a devastating blow to our morale
Recent Examples on the Web
The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Lewis played in all 17 games last season for the Bears, serving mostly as a devastating blocker on run plays, especially in the red zone.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2024
Julio wants to opt out, but the effects on his livelihood could be devastating.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 7 June 2024
Unsurprisingly, many in the real-estate industry have tried to block it, claiming that a system that’s in place everywhere else around the country would be devastating for tenants, brokers, and landlords.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 5 June 2024
But Russia’s most recent campaign against the power grid, which started in late March, has been more devastating than before because Moscow has improved its tactics, firing larger and more complex missile barrages that Ukraine’s limited air defenses have struggled to intercept.
—Oleksandra Mykolyshyn, New York Times, 5 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for devastating 
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2024
Julio wants to opt out, but the effects on his livelihood could be devastating.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 7 June 2024
Unsurprisingly, many in the real-estate industry have tried to block it, claiming that a system that’s in place everywhere else around the country would be devastating for tenants, brokers, and landlords.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 5 June 2024
But Russia’s most recent campaign against the power grid, which started in late March, has been more devastating than before because Moscow has improved its tactics, firing larger and more complex missile barrages that Ukraine’s limited air defenses have struggled to intercept.
—Oleksandra Mykolyshyn, New York Times, 5 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for devastating
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devastating.' 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
“Devastating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastating. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
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