Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

devastating

/dˈɛvəstˌeɪtɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.85 in modern English

Syllables: dev-as-tat-ing
IPA: /dˈɛvəstˌeɪtɪŋ/

16

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Causing devastation.

verb

present participle and gerund of devastate

Example Sentences

"Serious as was the flood damage in England, the bursting of some of the dykes on the coast of Holland resulted in an even more widespread and devastating inundation."
"“The whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it. And so does freedom of navigation worldwide. Make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating.”"

Inflected Forms

more devastating (comparative) most devastating (superlative)

Derived Forms

devastatingly undevastating

Synonyms

annihilative annihilating withering crushing

Questions

How do you pronounce devastating?: The recorded pronunciation is /dˈɛvəstˌeɪtɪŋ/.
What does devastating mean?: Causing devastation.

How to pronounce devastating

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “devastating”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dˈɛvəstˌeɪtɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “devastating”.
Repeat and practice — Say “devastating” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.