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

Saturday Night Live‘s Kenan Thompson is remembering his former All That co-star Christy Knowings, who died Tuesdat at 46 after being taken off life support following a devastating asthma attack. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026

In 2008, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker was involved in a devastating plane crash that killed four people. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026

Verb

The developments come at a challenging time for Sánchez, whose government has been consumed by the response to wildfires that have been devastating the country, including some of the largest on record. — Miguel MacIas, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026

Following a succession of heat waves that started even before the summer, wildfires have raged across France in recent weeks, devastating large swaths of land amid record temperatures and dry weather. — ABC News, 23 July 2026