devastate

Verb

cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
overwhelm or overpower
- "He was devastated by his grief when his son died"
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.
To destroy a whole collection of related ideas, beliefs, and strongly held opinions.
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.
To greatly demoralize, to cause to suffer intense grief or dismay

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dēvastātus, perfect passive participle of dēvastō (“to lay waste, devastate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)); from dē- (augmentative prefix) + vastō (“to destroy, lay waste”). See vast. First attested in 1638.

Synonyms

desolate, lay waste to, ravage, scourge, waste, decimate, destroy, raze, ruin

Scrabble Score: 13

devastate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
devastate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
devastate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

devastate: valid Words With Friends Word