🔍 牛津詞典
🔍 朗文詞典
🔍 劍橋詞典
🔍 柯林斯詞典
🔍 麥美倫詞典
🔍 韋氏詞典 🎯

檢索以下詞典:
(Mr. Ng 不推薦使用 Google 翻譯!)
最近搜尋:
TOEFL IELTS BNC: 7732 COCA: 6414

devastate

verb

dev·​as·​tate ˈde-və-ˌstāt How to pronounce devastate (audio)
devastated; devastating

transitive verb

1
: to bring to ruin or desolation by violent action
a country devastated by war
The typhoon devastated the island.
2
: to reduce to chaos, disorder, or helplessness : overwhelm
devastated by grief
Her wisecrack devastated the class.
devastation noun
devastative adjective
devastator noun
Choose the Right Synonym for devastate

ravage, devastate, waste, sack, pillage, despoil mean to lay waste by plundering or destroying.

ravage implies violent often cumulative depredation and destruction.

a hurricane ravaged the coast

devastate implies the complete ruin and desolation of a wide area.

an earthquake devastated the city

waste may imply producing the same result by a slow process rather than sudden and violent action.

years of drought had wasted the area

sack implies carrying off all valuable possessions from a place.

barbarians sacked ancient Rome

pillage implies ruthless plundering at will but without the completeness suggested by sack.

settlements pillaged by Vikings

despoil applies to looting or robbing without suggesting accompanying destruction.

the Nazis despoiled the art museums

Example Sentences

The flood devastated the town. The disease has devastated the area's oak tree population. The hurricane left the island completely devastated.
Recent Examples on the Web The flooding continued to devastate the area Wednesday with rushing water reaching Montana's largest city. Hannah Phillips, USA TODAY, 15 June 2022 Avian influenza, which can devastate chicken flocks, has had a major impact on the output of farms worldwide. Bloomberg News, oregonlive, 31 May 2022 Otters eat sea urchins, which can devastate kelp forests. Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 May 2022 Two hundred fifty million dollars would buy 5,000 Switchblade drones, which could devastate landing craft, armored vehicles, and small assault ships. Roger Wicker, WSJ, 4 May 2022 Requests for their return have mainly fallen upon deaf ears, as cultural institutions assert that returns would devastate their collections, or that the objects could not be adequately cared for elsewhere. Annalisa Bolin, Longreads, 28 July 2022 Half of the new commercial is a repeat of arguments Democrats made in 2018: That Stefanowski’s tax plan would devastate state services. Hartford Courant, 14 July 2022 The collaborative said dumping the water would devastate the industry, and the local economy along with it. Jennifer Mcdermott, ajc, 9 Apr. 2022 The collaborative said dumping the water would devastate the industry, and the local economy along with it. Jennifer Mcdermott, chicagotribune.com, 9 Apr. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Latin devastatus, past participle of devastare, from de- + vastare to lay waste — more at waste

First Known Use

1638, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of devastate was in 1638

👨🏻‍🏫 Mr. Ng 韋氏詞典 📚 – mw.mister5️⃣.net
切換為繁體中文
Site Uptime