Definition of devastate
devastated
;devastating
transitive verb
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.
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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 of devastate from the Web
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But Hun Sen has brought economic growth and relative stability to the Southeast Asian nation that was devastated by the communist Khmer Rouge dictatorship in the late 1970s, when 1.7 million people died from starvation, disease and executions.
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Three years ago, 49 people died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo—and in the unrelated outbreak that devastated West Africa between 2014 and 2016, over 11,000 deaths were recorded.
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Catastrophe struck in March 2011, when three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant sank into meltdowns after a tsunami devastated much of Japan’s northeastern coast.
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In South Carolina, many trees had blossoms or had already set fruit; that crop was devastated.
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Once a prosperous resort with handsome guest houses and sandy beaches, the rise of cheap foreign vacations in the 1970s robbed the local tourism industry of visitors and devastated its economy.
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The animals also carry diseases that can devastate cattle and domestic pig operations and even spread to humans.
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His earliest memory was of the 1926 hurricane, which devastated South Florida.
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The ordeal has simultaneously devastated and galvanized the tight-knit Park Forest police force, Green said.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'devastate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of devastate
Latin devastatus, past participle of devastare, from de- + vastare to lay waste — more at waste
First Known Use: 1638
Synonym Discussion of devastate
DEVASTATE Defined for English Language Learners
devastate
playDefinition of devastate for English Language Learners
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: to destroy much or most of (something) : to cause great damage or harm to (something)
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: to cause (someone) to feel extreme emotional pain
DEVASTATE Defined for Kids
devastate
playDefinition of devastate for Students
devastated
;devastating
1 : to destroy entirely or nearly entirely The forest was devastated by fire.
2 : to cause to suffer emotionally He was devastated by the loss.
Learn More about devastate
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See words that rhyme with devastate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for devastate Spanish Central: Translation of devastate Nglish: Translation of devastate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of devastate for Arabic speakers
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