different between devastation vs devastate

English

Etymology

From Middle French dévastation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?.v??ste?.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

devastation (countable and uncountable, plural devastations)

1. The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste.
   • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[1]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):

     Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property.

2. (law) Waste or misapplication of the assets of a deceased person by an executor or administrator; devastavit.

   Synonym: devastavit

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin d?vast?tus, perfect passive participle of d?vast?, from d?- (augmentative prefix) + vast? (“I destroy, I lay waste to”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?v?ste?t/

Verb

devastate (third-person singular simple present devastates, present participle devastating, simple past and past participle devastated)

1. To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest.
2. To destroy a whole collection of related ideas, beliefs, and strongly held opinions.
3. To break beyond recovery or repair so that the only options are abandonment or the clearing away of useless remains (if any) and starting over.
4. To greatly demoralize, to cause to suffer intense grief or dismay

Synonyms

• (to lay waste) decimate (sometimes proscribed); destroy; raze (to structures); ruin

Derived terms

• devastated (adjective)

Related terms

• devastation
• devastavit

Translations

Further reading

• devastate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• devastate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• devastate at OneLook Dictionary Search

Ido

Verb

devastate

1. adverbial present passive participle of devastar

Italian

Verb

devastate

1. inflection of devastare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative
2. feminine plural of devastato

Anagrams

• destavate, detestava

Latin

Verb

d?v?st?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of d?v?st?