What does devastate mean?
Devastate means To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest..
Devastate
/ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/ · verb
Meaning
To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest..
Definitions by Sense
- To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest.
- To destroy a whole collection of related ideas, beliefs, and strongly held opinions.
- To break beyond recovery or repair so that the only options are abandonment or the clearing away of useless remains (if any) and starting over.
- To greatly demoralize, to cause to suffer intense grief or dismay
Example Sentences
Halifax in Canada was devastated by a ship exploding in 1917. SS Mont Blanc, a French vessel loaded with 2.9 kilotons of explosives, collided with the Imo.
Synonyms for devastate
Antonyms for devastate
Related Words
Word Forms
- devastates
- devastating
- devastated
Usage Notes
Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a synonym for devastate?
Common synonyms include decimate, destroy, raze, ruin.
What is the opposite of devastate?
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
How do you use devastate in a sentence?
Halifax in Canada was devastated by a ship exploding in 1917. SS Mont Blanc, a French vessel loaded with 2.9 kilotons of explosives, collided with the Imo.
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.