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
Rejections don’t exist in vacuums; the devastating, face-to-face playground rejection of a little Black child by a white child in 1961 New Orleans was taught by adults.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Like the book and its film, Beaches traces a friendship between Cee Cee Bloom (Vosk) and Bertie White (Barrett) — two women who move from childhood pen pals to roommates, rivals and lifelong confidantes before their soaring story ends in devastating loss.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
Country star Zach Brown hosted a surprise private concert as a reward, Billie Eilish lent her name to a unique idol, and Jimmy Fallon hatched what ended up being a devastating advantage that later turned into a death sentence.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
Our hearts go out to the victim's family during this devastating time.
—Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Like the book and its film, Beaches traces a friendship between Cee Cee Bloom (Vosk) and Bertie White (Barrett) — two women who move from childhood pen pals to roommates, rivals and lifelong confidantes before their soaring story ends in devastating loss.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
Country star Zach Brown hosted a surprise private concert as a reward, Billie Eilish lent her name to a unique idol, and Jimmy Fallon hatched what ended up being a devastating advantage that later turned into a death sentence.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
Our hearts go out to the victim's family during this devastating time.
—Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastating
Cite this Entry
“Devastating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastating. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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