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
The plan was allowed to seek $1 billion from insurance companies that do business in the state following the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires last year.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 5 Feb. 2026
More than 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed fighting Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, acknowledging the conflict's devastating toll as negotiators in Abu Dhabi wrapped up the latest round of peace talks.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
The situation illustrates how decades after the devastating 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia, the region lags behind the rest of Europe both economically and with regard to environmental protection.
—Eldar Emric, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
This is because when the infection is passed from the pregnant person to their baby, the outcome can be devastating, resulting in serious health problems for the baby, and sometimes even death.
—wendy Wisner, Parents, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for devastating
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Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 5 Feb. 2026
More than 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed fighting Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, acknowledging the conflict's devastating toll as negotiators in Abu Dhabi wrapped up the latest round of peace talks.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
The situation illustrates how decades after the devastating 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia, the region lags behind the rest of Europe both economically and with regard to environmental protection.
—Eldar Emric, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
This is because when the infection is passed from the pregnant person to their baby, the outcome can be devastating, resulting in serious health problems for the baby, and sometimes even death.
—wendy Wisner, Parents, 4 Feb. 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 13 Feb. 2026.
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