How to Use devastate in a Sentence

devastate

verb
Definition of devastatenext
Synonyms for devastatenext
  • The flood devastated the town.
  • The disease has devastated the area's oak tree population.
  • The hurricane left the island completely devastated.
  • Perhaps such carnage will yet devastate the truck-driving profession.
    — Marc Levinson, WSJ, 16 Feb. 2022
  • Bird flu, or the avian flu, can devastate chicken and turkey populations, but the risk of infection for humans is very limited.
    — oregonlive, 8 Feb. 2022
  • According to Audubon, the ecosystem is on the brink of collapse, which would devastate the approximately 400 bird species that nest there.
    — Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2022
  • The wrong conditions could devastate the largest ever seaborne invasion, while any delay risks German intelligence catching on.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Hashem was devastated to the point of backing out of the deal.
    — Nate Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2023
  • The part of the island which includes the historic town Lahaina was devastated by the fires.
    — Analisa Novak, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2023
  • The Coquette’s jealousy leads the Baron, the host of the ball, to stab the Poet; the Sleepwalker, devastated, carries him away.
    — Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2023
  • The fact of the matter is Lindsay is devastated and I'm crushed with how all this transpired.
    — Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2023
  • This week marks three months of war that continues to devastate Gaza as the bodies and rubble pile up in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.
    — TIME, 11 Jan. 2024
  • Frankenstein the novel is about many things, including the life of the mind and how the human heart divides and devastates us.
    — Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2023
  • And deluges and floods devastated areas around the world.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2024
  • He was devastated but didn’t know what else to do other than accept they were lost and move on.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023
  • On May 13, we were devastated to hear that the royal family of the Netherlands had sailed to Britain.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2023
  • So, when Garcia received the news from the vet in June that Nala had cancer, she was devastated.
    — Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 13 Aug. 2024
  • Coal plants can be the largest employer in a region, and plant closures can devastate the towns and counties that host them.
    — Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic, 8 Oct. 2022
  • More than a decade later, fans of the wildly popular group were devastated to learn of the death of Liam Payne last week at age 31.
    — Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 22 Oct. 2024
  • This leaves the band’s fans devastated, including a young boy named Sea (played by Chang).
    — Sara Merican, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2024
  • The 29-year-old was just one of the scores of foreigners who became caught up in the attack that has devastated families around the world.
    — Heather Chen, CNN, 13 Oct. 2023
  • Gazans welcomed the prospect of a lull in the fighting that has devastated much of their territory.
    — Hiba Yazbek, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023
  • Both cousins were devastated over their younger cousin’s loss.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2024
  • The return of an active rail route through this desert landscape would devastate the unique and in many places sacred character of the area.
    — Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2023
  • Otters eat sea urchins, which can devastate kelp forests.
    — Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 May 2022
  • Taylor was devastated when Todd died a year later in a plane crash.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 4 Aug. 2024
  • Prior to Suzume’s release in Japan last year, Shinkai held a screening of the film in Tōhoku, the region devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
    — Kayti Burt, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2023
  • When Chelsea chose Jimmy in the end, Trevor seemed genuinely devastated, and that endeared him to fans even more.
    — Sam Reed, Glamour, 14 Mar. 2024
  • View full post on Instagram Fans had a lot to comment on, with many saying they too were devastated about the trade.
    — Country Living Staff, Country Living, 30 June 2023
  • Volunteer brigades will help prep for disasters in the area devastated by the Woolsey fire.
    — Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devastate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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