devastated

1 of 2

adjective

Synonyms of devastated
1
: brought to a state of ruin or destruction
Dr. Dawdy, a 38-year-old assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, is one of the more unusual relief workers among the thousands who have come to the devastated expanses of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.John Schwartz
I present here a steady flow model for the blast dynamics and propose that through much of the devastated area the blast was a supersonic flow of a complex multiphase (solid, liquid, vapour) mixture.Susan Werner Kieffer
2
: emotionally shattered or distraught
Doug never called. He dumped me for the cheerleader, and I was, in the parlance of teen-age romance, absolutely devastated.Marialisa Calta
Mr. Jacoby was devastated; he felt he was a proven winner and should not be yanked for one bad half.Ira Berkow

devastated

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of devastate

Examples of devastated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
Officials on both sides of the border have warned that the death toll could rise as rescue crews struggle to reach devastated areas, Reuters reported. Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026 So when Lily stepped out of a cab and told Marshall his dad had died of a heart attack, we were stunned and cried right along with the devastated couple. Erin Strecker, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Aug. 2026 The novel follows two women across half a century as Britain attempts to restore devastated landscapes and bring back species that once lived here. Solitaire Townsend, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 The stance leaves other elements of the ceasefire, including the deployment of international forces and any reconstruction of the devastated territory, on hold. ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for devastated

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of devastated was in 1792

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Cite this Entry

“Devastated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devastated. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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