Devastation — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the state of being decayed or destroyed

the feeling of being confounded or overwhelmed

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɹˈaʊnz/

🇬🇧British English

/dˌɛvɪstˈeɪʃən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˌɛvɪstˈeɪʃən/

4 syllables Say it as /dɹˈaʊnz/.

Examples

her departure left him in utter devastation

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

destruction desolation ravaging

Parts of Speech

noun	the state of being decayed or destroyed
noun	the feeling of being confounded or overwhelmed “her departure left him in utter devastation”
noun	an event that results in total destruction
noun	plundering with excessive damage and destruction
noun	the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists

Word Forms

devastate	verb	cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
desolate	verb	cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
ravage	verb	cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
destroy	verb	do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Verwüstung

der Zustand des Verfalls oder der Zerstörung

🇫🇷French

dévastation

l'état d'être pourri ou détruit

🇪🇸Spanish

devastación

el estado de descomposición o destrucción

🇮🇹Italian

devastazione

lo stato di decomposizione o distruzione

🇳🇱Dutch

verwoesting

de staat van verval of vernietiging

🇵🇹Portuguese

devastação

o estado de estar deteriorado ou destruído

🇷🇺Russian

опустошение

состояние разложения или разрушения

India

🇮🇳Hindi

तबाही

क्षय या नष्ट होने की अवस्था या भाव

🇧🇩Bengali

ধ্বংস

ক্ষয়প্রাপ্ত বা ধ্বংস হওয়ার অবস্থা

🇮🇳Tamil

அழிவு

சிதைந்த அல்லது அழிக்கப்பட்ட நிலை

🇮🇳Telugu

వినాశనం

క్షీణించిన లేదా నాశనం చేయబడిన స్థితి

🇮🇳Marathi

विध्वंस

सडलेली किंवा नष्ट होण्याची अवस्था

🇮🇳Gujarati

વિનાશ

ક્ષીણ અથવા નાશ પામવાની સ્થિતિ

🇮🇳Kannada

ವಿನಾಶ

ಕೊಳೆತ ಅಥವಾ ನಾಶವಾಗುವ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നാശം

ക്ഷയിച്ചതോ നശിപ്പിക്കപ്പെടുന്നതോ ആയ അവസ്ഥ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਤਬਾਹੀ

ਸੜਨ ਜਾਂ ਨਸ਼ਟ ਹੋਣ ਦੀ ਸਥਿਤੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

تباہی

بوسیدہ یا تباہ ہونے کی حالت

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

破坏

腐烂或毁坏的状态

🇯🇵Japanese

荒廃

腐敗または破壊された状態

🇰🇷Korean

폐허

부패하거나 파괴된 상태

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự tàn phá

tình trạng bị phân hủy hoặc bị phá hủy

🇹🇭Thai

ความหายนะ

สภาพที่ผุพังหรือถูกทำลาย

🇮🇩Indonesian

penghancuran

keadaan membusuk atau hancur

🇵🇭Filipino

pagkawasak

ang estado ng nabubulok o nawasak

🇲🇾Malay

kemusnahan

keadaan yang reput atau musnah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الدمار

حالة الاضمحلال أو التدمير

🇮🇷Persian

ویرانی

حالت پوسیده شدن یا از بین رفتن

🇹🇷Turkish

yıkım

Çürümüş veya yok olmuş olma durumu

🇮🇱Hebrew

חוּרבָּן

המצב של ריקבון או הרס

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'devastation' is 'the state of being decayed or destroyed'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'devastation' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted