Meaning & use
devastate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To damage a place or thing so badly that very little is left.
Grammar: Takes an object: the storm devastated the coast.
Patterns
- devastate a place
- be devastated by something
A huge wildfire devastated the hillside towns last summer.
The earthquake devastated much of the old city.
Drought has devastated crops across the region.
verbtransitive
To cause someone to feel extreme shock, grief, or distress.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a person: the news devastated her; often used in the passive.
Patterns
- devastate someone
- be devastated by something
- be devastated to hear that
The sudden death of their coach devastated the whole team.
She was devastated when her best friend moved abroad.
It devastated him to see the family business close.
Word forms
| third person singular | devastates |
|---|---|
| past tense | devastated |
| past participle | devastated |
| -ing form | devastating |
Common combinations
- utterly devastated
- The family was utterly devastated by the loss.
- devastate a community
- The factory closure devastated the small community.
- devastating effect
- The flood had a devastating effect on local farms.
- devastating blow
- Losing the contract was a devastating blow to the firm.
- be devastated to hear
- I was devastated to hear about your accident.
Synonyms and how they differ
- destroy
- Destroy suggests complete ruin, while devastate often leaves a little behind but in a ruined state.
- ravage
- Ravage describes damage that is spread over time and has a more violent, forceful feeling.
- shatter
- Shatter works well for hopes and confidence and implies sudden breaking rather than wide-scale ruin.
- crush
- Crush emphasizes pressing down on feelings or spirits, and is somewhat less formal.
Opposites
Word family
- devastation noun
- great destruction or deep shock and sorrow
- devastated adjective
- extremely upset or badly damaged
- devastating adjective
- causing great damage or distress
- devastatingly adverb
- to an extreme degree, often used for something striking
Commonly confused: devastate or disaster?
devastate vs disaster
A disaster is the event itself, whereas devastate is the verb for what it does to a place or person.
Practice
The team was ____ when they lost the final in the last second.
Choose one answer.
Devastated here means deeply upset. Devoted means loyal, devised means invented, and devoured means ate hungrily.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “devastate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.