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
As more homeowners get wise to these potentially devastating impacts, the non-toxic paint industry is catching up.
—Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 19 Mar. 2026
For Itani, Wednesday was just another day of documenting a devastating Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital.
—Max Butterworth, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
Iran’s regime has endured devastating losses over the past few weeks, with near daily US-Israeli strikes eliminating entire tiers of its leadership and military command structure.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026
To protect patients, especially those who need a lot of care and could otherwise face devastating medical bills, federal regulations require health insurers to limit how much patients can be asked to pay out of pocket each year for covered services.
—Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 19 Mar. 2026
For Itani, Wednesday was just another day of documenting a devastating Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital.
—Max Butterworth, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
Iran’s regime has endured devastating losses over the past few weeks, with near daily US-Israeli strikes eliminating entire tiers of its leadership and military command structure.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026
To protect patients, especially those who need a lot of care and could otherwise face devastating medical bills, federal regulations require health insurers to limit how much patients can be asked to pay out of pocket each year for covered services.
—Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 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 22 Mar. 2026.
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