devastated

adjective

dev·​as·​tat·​ed ˈde-və-ˌstā-təd 

1

: brought to a state of ruin or destruction

Dr. Dawdy, a 38-year-old assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, is one of the more unusual relief workers among the thousands who have come to the devastated expanses of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

—John Schwartz

I present here a steady flow model for the blast dynamics and propose that through much of the devastated area the blast was a supersonic flow of a complex multiphase (solid, liquid, vapour) mixture.

—Susan Werner Kieffer

2

: emotionally shattered or distraught

Doug never called. He dumped me for the cheerleader, and I was, in the parlance of teen-age romance, absolutely devastated.

—Marialisa Calta

Mr. Jacoby was devastated; he felt he was a proven winner and should not be yanked for one bad half.

—Ira Berkow

Examples of devastated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But last month, Lara took legal action against State Farm, alleging the company mishandled wildfire claims in the devastated Los Angeles fire zones. —Pat Maio, Oc Register, 3 June 2026

Little did the Rays know at the time, but a trade for Ohtani would have left them devastated. —Ken Rosenthal, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 2026

Sadly, Nick dies in a tragic car accident in the penultimate episode of The Four Seasons Season 1, leaving behind a group of devastated friends and family members, including Ginny, who is revealed to be pregnant in the season finale. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026

Three men in Hawaii were killed within 48 hours, leaving devastated families in mourning and a terrified community on edge as police hunt for the suspect. —Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 28 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for devastated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated