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

ONeal says storm chasers are often among the first people to reach devastated communities — sometimes long before emergency crews can arrive. —Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025

Companies have been forced to navigate a complex environment in which continuing operations risks legitimizing the junta, while withdrawal raises fears of mass job losses in an already devastated economy. —Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 22 Dec. 2025

Communities in central Vietnam had barely recovered from widespread flooding and landslides that killed at least 90 people, submerged historic neighborhoods and devastated farmland. —Helen Regan, CNN Money, 6 Dec. 2025

Meinl-Reisinger argued that peace must ensure Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, rebuild devastated communities, and provide its citizens with a secure future. —Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025

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