devastate

verb

ˈde-və-ˌstāt How to pronounce devastate (audio)
Definition of devastatenext
1
as in to ravage
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action the city was devastated, first by the earthquake and then by fires

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of the explosion devastated an entire city block

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to overwhelm
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress we were devastated by the awful news of his death

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb devastate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of devastate are despoil, pillage, ravage, sack, and waste. While all these words mean "to lay waste by plundering or destroying," devastate implies the complete ruin and desolation of a wide area.

an earthquake devastated the city

In what contexts can despoil take the place of devastate?

While the synonyms despoil and devastate are close in meaning, despoil applies to looting or robbing without suggesting accompanying destruction.

the Nazis despoiled the art museums

How are the words pillage and sack related as synonyms of devastate?

Pillage implies ruthless plundering at will but without the completeness suggested by sack.

settlements pillaged by Vikings

When would ravage be a good substitute for devastate?

The words ravage and devastate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, ravage implies violent often cumulative depredation and destruction.

a hurricane ravaged the coast

Where would sack be a reasonable alternative to devastate?

Although the words sack and devastate have much in common, sack implies carrying off all valuable possessions from a place.

barbarians sacked ancient Rome

When is waste a more appropriate choice than devastate?

While in some cases nearly identical to devastate, waste may imply producing the same result by a slow process rather than sudden and violent action.

years of drought had wasted the area

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of devastate Healthcare workers who’d turned up for the event described patients choosing between affording medication or food, or how they themselves had been financially devastated by a medical crisis. — Kate Wells, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026 Pi-o wins the competition, but is devastated at the disappearance of his friend. — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026 Duran compared the destruction in Williamsburg and Bushwick to the wave of arson that devastated parts of the South Bronx during the 1970s. — Hannah Kliger, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 But consolidating Lake Powell into Lake Mead would devastate recreationists who have enjoyed the area for generations, and the town of Page would lose most of its economy as well as its energy supply. — Story Hinckley, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for devastate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devastate
  1. ravage
  2. destroy
  3. overwhelm
  4. ruin
  5. overcome
  6. demolish
  7. shatter
  8. wreck
Verb
  • For more than 50 years, the house remained vacant, was ravaged by fire, and fell into complete disrepair.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The vestiges of his fading memory flash by with a haunting plainness, the melancholy of all this Americana and the sadness of a mind ravaged by time strike the viewer plainly at the end of this maximalist piece of life-writing.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of ravage
Verb
  • Noguchi, Nakashima, and Amino were adults on February 19, 1942, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced Japanese American families to quickly abandon or destroy their property and board trains to the holding centers.
    — Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Refineries in Russia have been destroyed or damaged by drone attacks.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroy
Verb
  • Bettany is by turns hilariously perplexed, in the universal manner of parents engaging with teens everywhere, and achingly tender, in the more unusual way of a robot letting himself be overwhelmed by feeling for the first time.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Clashes last week between armed groups from rival communities in the central part of South Sudan left scores of people dead and overwhelmed a hospital with wounded people, officials said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of overwhelm
Verb
  • Artificial, though, ends with a scene that convincingly conveys the extent to which AI will ruin all our lives.
    — Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The Civic, before it was smashed and ruined, had been a private world, an extension of myself.
    — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruin
Verb
  • These sessions have helped Ellis develop a better understanding of the challenges others have overcome.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The three-time AL MVP played just seven games after May 31 because of a fractured rib and the leg injury, an absence the team couldn't overcome.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of overcome
Verb
  • For one thing, Baron Haussmann had demolished swaths of the neighborhood in the mid-eighteen-hundreds to create the Place de la République.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In the 1990s, plans to demolish the deteriorating site and replace it with an underground car park sparked fierce opposition from local residents and traders, who successfully campaigned to save it.
    — Alessia Armenise, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of demolish
Verb
  • However, her plans are shattered when the body of a young woman is discovered in a bog, drawing Nora into a complex murder investigation alongside the local Garda team.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The story follows the transformation of Adriana (Colin), a woman shattered by a terrible murder and who discovers the strength to start over, driven by an unquenchable thirst for justice.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of shatter
Verb
  • The story centers on an influencer whose life is wrecked by an online pile-on.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • If checking your score reliably wrecks your morning, the device isn’t working for you.
    — J. David Creswell, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of wreck

Browse Nearby Words

devaluing
devastate
devastated
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Cite this Entry

“Devastate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devastate. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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