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
Rescuers continue to struggle to reach devastated communities days after the massive flooding that stemmed from a glacier collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday. Rudy Chinchilla, NBC news, 31 Aug. 2026 The death toll from severe flooding along the Nepal-China border on Wednesday has climbed to 762 in Nepal, local police said, as rescue crews scour devastated neighborhoods for survivors. Bhadra Sharma, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 Villagers return to devastated homes As people were still leaving Trishuli, some village residents were returning to see what could be salvaged from their decimated homes. Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026 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 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 3 Sep. 2026.

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