Devastate — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly

overwhelm or overpower

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɹˈaʊnɚz/

🇬🇧British English

/dˈɛvɪstˌeɪt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˈɛvɪstˌeɪt/

3 syllables Say it as /dɹˈaʊnɚz/.

Examples

The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion
He was devastated by his grief when his son died

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

waste scourge lay waste to desolate ravage

Parts of Speech

verb	cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly “The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion”
verb	overwhelm or overpower “He was devastated by his grief when his son died”

Word Forms

waster	noun	a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to
devastation	noun	the state of being decayed or destroyed
desolation	noun	a bleak and desolate atmosphere
ravage	noun	(usually plural) a destructive action
ravaging	noun	plundering with excessive damage and destruction
scourge	noun	something causing misery or death

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

verwüsten

weitreichende Zerstörung oder den völligen Untergang verursachen

🇫🇷French

dévaster

provoquer des destructions importantes ou une ruine totale

🇪🇸Spanish

devastar

causar una gran destrucción o arruinar completamente

🇮🇹Italian

devastare

causare estese distruzioni o rovina totale

🇳🇱Dutch

verwoesten

grootschalige vernietiging of totale verwoesting veroorzaken

🇵🇹Portuguese

devastar

causar destruição extensa ou ruína total

🇷🇺Russian

опустошать

вызвать обширные разрушения или полностью разорить

India

🇮🇳Hindi

उजाड़ना

व्यापक विनाश या पूरी तरह से बर्बादी का कारण बनें

🇧🇩Bengali

ধ্বংস করা

ব্যাপক ধ্বংস বা সম্পূর্ণরূপে ধ্বংস ঘটান

🇮🇳Tamil

அழிக்கும்

விரிவான அழிவை அல்லது முற்றிலும் அழிவை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

వినాశనం

విస్తృతమైన విధ్వంసం లేదా పూర్తిగా నాశనం చేయడం

🇮🇳Marathi

उद्ध्वस्त करणे

व्यापक नाश करा किंवा पूर्णपणे नाश करा

🇮🇳Gujarati

વિનાશ

વ્યાપક વિનાશ અથવા સંપૂર્ણ વિનાશનું કારણ બને છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಧ್ವಂಸಗೊಳಿಸು

ವ್ಯಾಪಕವಾದ ವಿನಾಶವನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಹಾಳುಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നശിപ്പിക്കുക

വിപുലമായ നാശം വരുത്തുക അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പൂർണ്ണമായും നശിപ്പിക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਤਬਾਹੀ

ਵਿਆਪਕ ਤਬਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਣੋ ਜਾਂ ਪੂਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਬਰਬਾਦ ਕਰੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

تباہ

بڑے پیمانے پر تباہی یا مکمل طور پر بربادی کا سبب بنیں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

蹂躏

造成广泛破坏或彻底毁坏

🇯🇵Japanese

荒廃させる

大規模な破壊または完全な破滅を引き起こす

🇰🇷Korean

황폐화하다

광범위한 파괴 또는 완전히 파멸을 초래

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tàn phá

gây ra sự tàn phá trên diện rộng hoặc hủy hoại hoàn toàn

🇹🇭Thai

ทำลายล้าง

ทำให้เกิดความหายนะอย่างกว้างขวางหรือความพินาศอย่างสิ้นเชิง

🇮🇩Indonesian

menghancurkan

menyebabkan kehancuran besar atau kehancuran total

🇵🇭Filipino

magwasak

nagdudulot ng malawakang pagkawasak o pagkasira ng lubos

🇲🇾Malay

memusnahkan

menyebabkan kemusnahan atau kehancuran yang meluas

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

مدمر

التسبب في دمار واسع النطاق أو الخراب التام

🇮🇷Persian

ویران کردن

باعث تخریب یا خرابی کامل شود

🇹🇷Turkish

harap etmek

geniş çaplı yıkıma veya tamamen yıkıma neden olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהַחרִיב

לגרום להרס רב או להרס מוחלט

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'devastate'?

The primary meaning of 'devastate' is 'cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'devastate' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'devastate' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'devastate' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'devastate' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'devastate' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'devastate' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'devastate' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'devastate' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'devastate' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'devastate' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted