as in destroyed
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1
as in ravaged
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
the city was devastated, first by the earthquake and then by fires
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ruined
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
the explosion devastated an entire city block
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in overwhelmed
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
we were devastated by the awful news of his death
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of devastated
Kara St. Cyr, CBS News, 26 Dec. 2025
ONeal says storm chasers are often among the first people to reach devastated communities — sometimes long before emergency crews can arrive.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025
Katie Campione, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
Grand Canyon National Park is preparing to reopen portions of the North Rim after the Dragon Bravo Fire devastated the region last summer.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastated
Adjective
No one was more devastated than owner and performer, D'Arcy Drollinger.
—Kara St. Cyr, CBS News, 26 Dec. 2025
ONeal says storm chasers are often among the first people to reach devastated communities — sometimes long before emergency crews can arrive.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025
Verb
We’re all just devastated by this news.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
Grand Canyon National Park is preparing to reopen portions of the North Rim after the Dragon Bravo Fire devastated the region last summer.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devastated
Verb
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In November, researchers published findings about the deadly pathogens that ravaged Napoleon's soldiers during his doomed 1812 retreat from Russia.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The Texans were ravaged by injuries on the interior defensive line this season, and many of those players will be free agents.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Well, Federer just destroyed him — 6-1, 6-4 in about 50 minutes — and that left a lot of time to fill.—
Patrick McEnroe,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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The fire killed two people, destroyed 1,084 homes and businesses and did more than $2 billion in property damage.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Ketter said the volume of traffic temporarily overwhelmed DreamHaven's website.—
Nick Lunemann,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The company said the influx briefly overwhelmed its servers.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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His choices allow the viewer to drink in the intimate details of the ruined world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
Verb
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She was shattered by thoughts of all the father-and-son moments Carlos and Alessandro had missed — things like girlfriend issues.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
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Don’t forget Knueppel is already the fastest player to reach 100 made career 3-pointers, establishing the impressive mark 12 games quicker than Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, who held the record until Knueppel shattered it.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The driver then got out of the wrecked vehicle and fled on foot, police said.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
5 Jan. 2026
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Lowell plunders an emerald out of a wrecked ship, starts a fistfight with a local ruler, nearly dies when a boa constrictor wraps itself around her neck, and is wounded by an alligator.—
Michael Waters,
New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The apartments will replace a vacant lot that once held Community Christian Church, which was demolished in 2022.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
12 Jan. 2026
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Israel has demolished more than 2,500 buildings in Gaza since the cease-fire began, according to a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery from Planet Labs.—
Samuel Granados,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Tesla’s response—that of aggressive discounting—has protected volume but damaged margins and resale values.—
Peter Lyon,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Todorovich is focusing on enterprise-wide business models but is not placing buys or negotiating return to vendors involving returning defective, damaged or unsold merchandise back to the supplier or manufacturer.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Devastated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devastated. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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