dev·as·tat·ing | \ ˈde-və-ˌstā-tiŋ 
\
\Definition of devastating
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
2 : 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
3 : extremely effective or powerful
a devastating satire He had a devastating wit and an utter contempt for shoddy work in physics.— Jeremy Bernstein
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Other Words from devastating
devastatingly \ ˈde-və-ˌstā-tiŋ-lē \ adverb
\ 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 Postcards from the Edge is a devastatingly savvy, bitingly funny, yet sad movie based on Carrie Fisher's autobiographical novel about Hollywood. — Jeffrey Lyons
… is portrayed as a devastatingly effective power broker in the Senate. — Alan Brinkley
Synonyms & Antonyms for devastating
Synonyms
- annihilatory,
- calamitous,
- cataclysmal
- (or cataclysmic),
- destructive,
- devastative,
- disastrous,
- ruinous
Antonyms
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More Definitions for devastating
devastating
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of devastating
: causing great damage or harm
: causing extreme emotional pain
: extremely effective or powerful
See the full definition for devastating in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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Comments on devastating
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Time Traveler for devastating
The first known use of devastating was in 1634
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