DEVASTATING: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for DEVASTATING?

Need another word that means the same as “devastating”? Find 49 synonyms and 30 related words for “devastating” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Devastating” are: crushing, annihilating, withering, annihilative, destructive, ruinous, disastrous, catastrophic, calamitous, cataclysmic, shattering, shocking, traumatic, overwhelming, distressing, severe, savage, terrible, very great, gorgeous, stunning, glamorous, dazzling, ravishing, striking, beautiful, lovely, captivating, bewitching, beguiling, engaging, charming, charismatic, enchanting, appealing, arresting, delightful, irresistible, desirable, luscious, sexy, sexually attractive, seductive, alluring, incisive, penetrating, cutting, mordant, trenchant

Devastating as an Adjective

Definitions of "Devastating" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “devastating” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Highly destructive or damaging.
• Wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction.
• Extremely impressive or effective.
• Making light of- W.S.Gilbert.
• Physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination.
• Causing severe shock, distress, or grief.
• Making light of.

Synonyms of "Devastating" as an adjective (49 Words)

alluring	Powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating; seductive. Her alluring smile.
annihilating	Making light of. Afire with annihilating invective.
annihilative	Wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction. Possessing annihilative power.
appealing	(of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings. The idea of having enough money to retire at fifty is very appealing.
arresting	Denoting a person or agency that seizes and detains someone by legal authority. The arresting officer.
beautiful	Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. Beautiful poetry.
beguiling	Highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire. Taken in by beguiling tales of overnight fortunes.
bewitching	Capturing interest as if by a spell. Bewitching smile.
calamitous	Having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin. A calamitous defeat.
captivating	Capturing interest as if by a spell. A captivating smile.
cataclysmic	(of a natural event) large-scale and violent. Cataclysmic nuclear war.
catastrophic	Involving a sudden and large-scale alteration in state. The body undergoes catastrophic collapse towards the state of a black hole.
charismatic	Relating to the charismatic movement in the Christian Church. He was a charismatic figure with great appeal to the public.
charming	Possessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers. A charming little cottage.
crushing	Physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination. A crushing blow.
cutting	Capable of cutting something. Cutting winter winds.
dazzling	Amazingly impressive; suggestive of the flashing of lightning. A dazzling display of football.
delightful	Causing delight; charming. The comedy was delightful.
desirable	(of a person) arousing sexual desire. A desirable job.
destructive	Causing destruction or much damage. Destructive criticism.
disastrous	Highly unsuccessful. The battle was a disastrous end to a disastrous campaign.
distressing	Bad; unfortunate. Some very distressing news.
enchanting	Delightfully charming or attractive. Enchanting views.
engaging	Charming and attractive. An engaging smile.
glamorous	(of a person) having a beauty or charm that is sexually attractive. Being a singer must be such a glamorous lifestyle.
gorgeous	Very pleasant or enjoyable. Gorgeous colours and exquisite decoration.
incisive	(of a person or mental process) intelligently analytical and clear-thinking. Incisive teeth.
irresistible	Impossible to resist; overpowering. She felt an irresistible urge to object.
lovely	Very pleasant or enjoyable; delightful. She looked lovely.
luscious	Very sexually attractive. The luscious brush strokes and warm colours of these late masterpieces.
mordant	Harshly ironic or sinister. A mordant sense of humour.
overwhelming	Very great in amount. The temptation to despair may become overwhelming.
penetrating	Having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions. Her scream was sudden and penetrating.
ravishing	Delightful; entrancing. She looked ravishing.
ruinous	Causing injury or blight; especially affecting with sudden violence or plague or ruin. The castle is ruinous.
savage	Able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering. A savage race.
seductive	Tending to entice into a desired action or state. A seductive voice.
severe	Severely simple. A hefty six footer with a rather severe mien.
sexually attractive	Having the properties of a magnet; the ability to draw or pull.
shattering	Seemingly loud enough to break something; violently rattling or clattering. The shattering peal of artillery.
shocking	Causing a feeling of surprise and dismay. The most shocking book of its time.
striking	(of an employee) on strike. A striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center.
stunning	Causing or capable of causing bewilderment or shock or insensibility. A stunning detonation with volumes of black smoke.
terrible	Extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact. What a terrible mess.
traumatic	Psychologically painful. She is remembering some deeply traumatic incident in her past.
trenchant	Having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect. A trenchant argument.
very great	Precisely as stated.
withering	(of heat) intense; scorching. Protective cover to escape withering heat.

Usage Examples of "Devastating" as an adjective

• A devastating cyclone.
• She had a devastating wit.
• The news came as a devastating blow.
• A devastating portrait of human folly.
• A devastating hurricane.

Associations of "Devastating" (30 Words)

aftershock	A tremor (or one of a series of tremors) occurring after the main shock of an earthquake.
avalanche	Engulf or carry off by an avalanche. We have had an avalanche of applications for the post.
calamitous	Having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin. Such calamitous events as fires hurricanes and floods.
catastrophic	Involving a sudden and large-scale alteration in state. Catastrophic mismanagement of the economy.
conflagration	A very intense and uncontrolled fire. Tinder dry conditions sparked fears of a conflagration in many drought devastated communities.
crushing	Physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination. A crushing blow.
damage	Suffer or be susceptible to damage. The damage to his reputation was considerable.
deadly	As if dead. Deadly poisons.
destructive	Negative and unhelpful. The destructive power of weapons.
detrimental	Causing harm or injury. Recent policies have been detrimental to the interests of many old people.
devastate	Overwhelm or overpower. He was devastated by his grief when his son died.
earthquake	Shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane or from volcanic activity. Selling the company caused an earthquake among the employees.
epicenter	The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
fatal	Having momentous consequences; of decisive importance. The fatal day of the election finally arrived.
harmful	Causing or likely to cause harm. Too much sun is harmful to the skin.
hazard	Say (something) in a tentative way. We can form no calculation concerning the laws of hazard.
incapacitate	Injure permanently. He was incapacitated by a heart attack.
injurious	(of language) maliciously insulting; libellous. Food which is injurious to health.
landslide	An overwhelming majority of votes for one party or candidate in an election. Roosevelt defeated Hoover in a landslide.
lethal	Sufficient to cause death. The Krakatoa eruption was the most lethal on record.
mortal	Involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death. Capacities only possible of God rather than mortals.
pernicious	Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way. The pernicious influences of the mass media.
ruinous	Disastrous or destructive. A ruinous course of action.
seismograph	An instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes, such as force and duration.
slayer	Someone who kills a person or animal in a violent way. David the slayer of Goliath.
stifling	Making one feel constrained or oppressed. The stifling atmosphere.
suppression	The failure to develop some part or organ. The heavy handed suppression of political dissent.
toxicity	Grave harmfulness or deadliness. She went public with allegations of workplace toxicity and sexism.
tsunami	An arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities or amounts. A tsunami of data pours into the CNBC newsroom every minute of every trading day.
withering	Making light of. Protective cover to escape withering heat.