Whole countries . . . were devastated. --Macaulay.
Syn: To waste; ravage; desolate; destroy; demolish; plunder; pillage. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
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
