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
But with its core business incurring devastating losses — and a major whiff in the form of the Cybertruck — Musk likely saw the writing on the wall.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026
Based on the devastating dystopian novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, this wistful drama explores the lives of Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, three friends who grow up at a boarding school.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Tribal officials also fear more roads in the forest would lead to more mining, particularly sulfide mining, which has been devastating to the environment in the past.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Tatiana Maslany—unrecognizable, as usual—leaves a devastating impression as Harry’s estranged daughter.
—Beandrea July, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026
Based on the devastating dystopian novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, this wistful drama explores the lives of Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth, three friends who grow up at a boarding school.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Tribal officials also fear more roads in the forest would lead to more mining, particularly sulfide mining, which has been devastating to the environment in the past.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Tatiana Maslany—unrecognizable, as usual—leaves a devastating impression as Harry’s estranged daughter.
—Beandrea July, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastating
Cite this Entry
“Devastating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastating. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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