Devastating

Devastating
Devastate Dev"as*tate (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Devastated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Devastating}.] [L. devastatus, p. p. of devastare to devastate; de + vastare to lay waste, vastus waste. See {Vast}.] To lay waste; to ravage; to desolate. [1913 Webster]

Whole countries . . . were devastated. --Macaulay.

Syn: To waste; ravage; desolate; destroy; demolish; plunder; pillage. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • devastating — adj. 1. highly critical; making light of; as, a devastating portrait of human folly. Syn: annihilating, withering. [WordNet 1.5] 2. causing or capable of causing complete destruction; as, a devastating hurricane. Syn: annihilative. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • devastating — index dire, disastrous, fatal Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • devastating — 1630s, prp. adj. from DEVASTATE (Cf. devastate). Trivial use by 1889 …   Etymology dictionary

  • devastating — ► ADJECTIVE 1) highly destructive. 2) extremely distressing or shocking. 3) informal very impressive or attractive. DERIVATIVES devastatingly adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • devastating — dev|a|stat|ing [ˈdevəsteıtıŋ] adj 1.) badly damaging or destroying something devastating effect/impact ▪ Acid rain has a devastating effect on the forest. devastating results/consequences ▪ The oil spill has had devastating consequences for local …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • devastating — [[t]de̱vəsteɪtɪŋ[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n (emphasis) If you describe something as devastating, you are emphasizing that it is very harmful or damaging. The city of Ormac took the full force of the winds and devastating floods... Affairs do… …   English dictionary

  • devastating — dev|as|tat|ing [ devə,steıtıŋ ] adjective * 1. ) causing a lot of harm or damage: a devastating fire/storm/flood Gambling can have a devastating effect on families. 2. ) very shocking or upsetting: It is always devastating to be diagnosed with a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • devastating */ — UK [ˈdevəˌsteɪtɪŋ] / US adjective 1) causing a lot of harm or damage a devastating fire/storm/flood Gambling can have a devastating effect on families. 2) very shocking or upsetting It is always devastating to be diagnosed with a terminal illness …   English dictionary

  • devastating — adjective 1 destroying or badly damaging something: Acid rain has a devastating effect on the environment. 2 shocking and upsetting: the devastating news of a plane crash 3 almost impossible to argue against or deal with: a devastating argument… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • devastating — adjective 1) a devastating cyclone Syn: destructive, ruinous, disastrous, catastrophic, calamitous, cataclysmic; harmful, damaging, injurious, detrimental; crippling, violent, savage, fierce, dangerous, fatal, deadly …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • devastating — [ˈdevəˌsteɪtɪŋ] adj 1) causing a lot of harm or damage a devastating fire/storm/flood[/ex] 2) very shocking or upsetting a devastating loss[/ex] 3) very impressive or attractive devastating good looks[/ex] …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

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