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

2

: 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

3

: extremely effective or powerful

a devastating satire

He had a devastating wit and an utter contempt for shoddy work in physics.

—Jeremy Bernstein

devastatingly

ˈde-və-ˌstā-tiŋ-lē 

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

Postcards from the Edge is a devastatingly savvy, bitingly funny, yet sad movie based on Carrie Fisher's autobiographical novel about Hollywood.

—Jeffrey Lyons

… is portrayed as a devastatingly effective power broker in the Senate.

—Alan Brinkley

Synonyms

• annihilatory
• calamitous
• cataclysmal
• cataclysmic
• destructive
• devastative
• disastrous
• ruinous

Examples of devastating in a Sentence

a devastating blow to our morale

Recent Examples on the Web

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images President Donald Trump's freeze of U.S. foreign humanitarian aid and shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development is having devastating consequences globally, several humanitarian nongovernmental organization leaders told ABC News. —Julia Cherner, ABC News, 9 Feb. 2025

After seeing the devastating impact of the 1918 pandemic on the nation’s soldiers and sailors, officials prioritized protecting the military from influenza. —Alexandra M. Lord, CNN, 9 Feb. 2025

Daniel's death was devastating to Anna Nicole, who went into seclusion after losing him. —Emily Krauser, People.com, 8 Feb. 2025

After facing multiple delays due to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, the 2025 Critics Choice Awards are finally underway in Santa Monica, California, hosted by Chelsea Handler for the third consecutive year. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 8 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1