devastate
verb/ˈdevəsteɪt/
/ˈdevəsteɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they devastate | /ˈdevəsteɪt/ /ˈdevəsteɪt/ |
| he / she / it devastates | /ˈdevəsteɪts/ /ˈdevəsteɪts/ |
| past simple devastated | /ˈdevəsteɪtɪd/ /ˈdevəsteɪtɪd/ |
| past participle devastated | /ˈdevəsteɪtɪd/ /ˈdevəsteɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form devastating | /ˈdevəsteɪtɪŋ/ /ˈdevəsteɪtɪŋ/ |
- devastate something to completely destroy a place or an area
- The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city.
- [often passive] devastate somebody to make somebody feel very shocked and sadTopics Feelingsc1
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin devastat- ‘laid waste’, from the verb devastare, from de- ‘thoroughly’ + vastare ‘lay waste’.
Check pronunciation:
devastate