Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: devastare, from vastare 'to lay waste, destroy'

devastate

 verb
     
dev‧a‧state [transitive]
1 to make someone feel extremely shocked and sad:
Rob was devastated by the news of her death.
2 to damage something very badly or completely:
The city centre was devastated by the bomb.
—devastation noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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