Verb
- 1. lay waste to, waste, devastate, desolate, ravage, scourge, destroy, ruin
- usage: cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion"
- 2. devastate, overwhelm, overpower, sweep over, whelm, overcome, overtake
- usage: overwhelm or overpower; "He was devastated by his grief when his son died"
Adjective
- 1. annihilating, devastating, withering, disrespectful (vs. respectful)
- usage: making light of; "afire with annihilating invective"; "a devastating portrait of human folly"; "to compliments inflated I've a withering reply"- W.S.Gilbert
- 2. annihilative, annihilating, devastating, withering, destructive (vs. constructive)
- usage: wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction; "possessing annihilative power"; "a devastating hurricane"; "the guns opened a withering fire"
- 3. crushing, devastating, destructive (vs. constructive)
- usage: physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination; "a crushing blow"; "a crushing rejection"; "bone-crushing"
WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University.
All rights reserved.Definition and meaning of devastating (Dictionary)