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
More than six months after devastating wildfires swept across the Los Angeles region in January, the recovery efforts continue.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, this lack of quorum means that there cannot be votes on things like relief and new warning systems after the devastating floods in Texas last month.
—Ailsa Chang, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
Moreover, Tokyo’s enormous death toll and devastating destruction from the March bombings, the firebombing of multiple other Japanese cities, and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 did not immediately force Japan to surrender.
—Paul L. Newman, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2025
Henson opened up about the devastating moment in a candid conversation with Lena Waithe in the latest episode of the Lemonada Media podcast Legacy Talk.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Todd Spangler, Variety, 7 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, this lack of quorum means that there cannot be votes on things like relief and new warning systems after the devastating floods in Texas last month.
—Ailsa Chang, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
Moreover, Tokyo’s enormous death toll and devastating destruction from the March bombings, the firebombing of multiple other Japanese cities, and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 did not immediately force Japan to surrender.
—Paul L. Newman, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2025
Henson opened up about the devastating moment in a candid conversation with Lena Waithe in the latest episode of the Lemonada Media podcast Legacy Talk.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
Cite this Entry
“Devastating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastating. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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