devastated

adjective

dev·​as·​tat·​ed ˈde-və-ˌstā-təd 

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

Examples of devastated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The ceasefire’s first phase calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory. —Tia Goldenberg, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2025

The cease-fire's first phase calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory. —Wafaa Shurafa, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025

Temporarily housing Gazans in dignified conditions elsewhere while the devastated territory is rebuilt under the watchful eyes of America and its allies would provide the Gazan people with much-deserved relief while depriving Hamas of its source of power and income. —Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2025

The Republican Party is betraying a devastated Los Angeles. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1