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
Historically, the most devastating result from tariffs came from the sweeping Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that began to wend its way through Congress in 1929, triggering the infamous stock market crash.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Perhaps Trump wanted to save off his most devastating salvos — the EU and Mexico were, in 2024, the top-two largest trade partners of the U.S. — for when the markets were closed, hence avoiding any immediate backlash from traders.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 14 July 2025
The past decades have been peppered with nor’easters so devastating, some are now known by nicknames which sound like disaster movie titles.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 14 July 2025
This absolutely devastating novel set in Northern Ireland in 1975 follows the affair between young Cushla, and older, married British lawyer Micheal.
—Hattie Williams
july 14, Literary Hub, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for devastating
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Perhaps Trump wanted to save off his most devastating salvos — the EU and Mexico were, in 2024, the top-two largest trade partners of the U.S. — for when the markets were closed, hence avoiding any immediate backlash from traders.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 14 July 2025
The past decades have been peppered with nor’easters so devastating, some are now known by nicknames which sound like disaster movie titles.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 14 July 2025
This absolutely devastating novel set in Northern Ireland in 1975 follows the affair between young Cushla, and older, married British lawyer Micheal.
—Hattie Williams
july 14, Literary Hub, 14 July 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 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share