Synonyms of devastating

devastating 1 of 2

adjective

ˈde-və-ˌstā-tiŋ 

as in disastrous

causing or tending to cause destruction

a devastating blow to our morale

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disastrous
• destructive
• devastative
• deadly
• lethal
• ruinous
• fatal
• calamitous
• poisonous
• annihilatory
• fell
• murderous
• cataclysmal
• killer
• harmful
• detrimental
• virulent
• deleterious
• pernicious
• antibiotic
• vital
• mortal
• baleful
• deathly
• biocidal
• pestilent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protective
• nondestructive
• constructive
• creative
• productive
• useful
• harmless
• formative
• helpful
• innocuous
• innocent
• healthy
• preservative
• healthful
• wholesome
• inoffensive
• ameliorative
• nonfatal
• salubrious
• nonlethal

devastating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of devastate

1

as in ravaging

to bring destruction to (something) through violent action

the city was devastated, first by the earthquake and then by fires

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ravaging
• destroying
• ruining
• shattering
• wrecking
• scourging
• overwhelming
• plundering
• sacking
• obliterating
• eradicating
• stripping
• desolating
• looting
• decimating
• despoiling
• marauding
• annihilating
• vaporizing
• pillaging
• wiping out
• extinguishing
• extirpating
• demolishing
• wracking
• smashing
• harrying
• wasting
• expunging
• totaling
• overpowering
• mowing
• crushing
• razing
• nuking
• overrunning
• foraying
• overthrowing
• rubbing out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovering
• restoring
• rehabilitating
• repairing
• fixing
• redeeming
• reconditioning
• mending
• patching
• revamping

2

as in destroying

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

the explosion devastated an entire city block

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroying
• shattering
• ruining
• demolishing
• wrecking
• damaging
• smashing
• overcoming
• crippling
• wasting
• decimating
• ravaging
• eroding
• annihilating
• pulverizing
• extinguishing
• crushing
• desolating
• vaporizing
• tearing down
• wracking
• marring
• totaling
• killing
• razing
• pulling down
• defeating
• dismantling
• doing in
• rubbing out
• blasting
• breaking
• creaming
• nuking
• removing
• deteriorating
• disfiguring
• disintegrating
• impairing
• subduing
• injuring
• spoiling
• prevailing (over)
• harming
• winning (against)
• conquering
• trimming
• surmounting
• mastering
• mutilating
• clobbering
• whipping
• thrashing
• undoing
• licking
• routing
• wearing (away)
• dynamiting
• sweeping (away)
• mangling
• eradicating
• triumphing (over)
• walloping
• dissolving
• besting
• obliterating
• overmatching
• beating
• vitiating
• gutting
• blowing up
• drubbing
• sacking
• overbearing
• slaughtering
• defacing
• scouring
• washing out
• trouncing
• wiping out
• plundering
• extirpating
• taking down
• looting
• exterminating
• murdering
• assassinating
• liquidating
• trampling
• disassembling
• stamping (out)
• cutting down
• slaying
• dilapidating
• expunging
• despoiling
• executing
• blotting out
• scotching
• skunking
• vandalizing
• rooting (out)
• dispatching
• pillaging
• massacring
• effacing
• killing off
• felling
• mowing (down)
• trashing
• butchering
• snuffing (out)
• unmaking
• taking out
• zapping
• unbuilding
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• creating
• raising
• repairing
• rearing
• setting up
• fixing
• erecting
• producing
• making
• shaping
• putting up
• manufacturing
• forming
• forging
• inventing
• framing
• assembling
• protecting
• establishing
• organizing
• saving
• patching
• bringing about
• reconditioning
• revamping
• constituting
• fashioning
• molding
• mending
• fabricating
• preserving
• rebuilding
• doctoring
• founding
• instituting
• reconstructing
• restoring
• remodeling
• conserving
• fathering
• renovating

3

as in overwhelming

to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress

we were devastated by the awful news of his death

Synonyms & Similar Words

• overwhelming
• overcoming
• crushing
• overpowering
• disturbing
• grinding (down)
• oppressing
• swamping
• overmastering
• rocking
• drowning
• upsetting
• flooring
• shattering
• whelming
• prostrating
• distressing
• defeating
• snowing under
• sinking
• staggering
• unnerving
• demoralizing
• refuting
• throwing
• deluging
• confuting
• unmanning
• breaking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of devastating

Adjective

Yet the genre spawned one of the most devastating diss tracks of all time. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026

After the devastating January 2025 firestorm, plans have been submitted or work has begun on at least 13 single-family lots that would create subdivisions for multifamily housing, according to Altadena Recovery Watch, a group of fire survivors. — Seamus Bozeman, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

Verb

Teams from California to Florida are helping Venezuelans rebound from devastating earthquakes that killed nearly 1,500 people, according to the latest death toll figures authorities announced on Saturday. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026

But for Bericoto, of Maracay, Venezuela, the news of Wednesday evening’s pair of devastating earthquakes in his home country have made the moment bittersweet. — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 25 June 2026