as in devastating
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
totally desolated the city with aerial bombs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolating
Verb
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Loss of this support, which is said to cover 25% of the center’s operating costs, would have been devastating both financially and reputationally.
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These giant invasive snakes are devastating the Everglades ecosystem by eating through the native food web without any natural predators to keep them in check.
Verb
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Mexican fruit flies are one of the world’s most destructive pests when laying their eggs, destroying or damaging fruit such as apples, grapefruits, avocados, peaches and pears, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
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But Blue Origin suffered a major setback in May when one of its New Glenn rockets abruptly exploded on the launchpad, destroying vital infrastructure that will take months to rebuild.
Verb
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SpaceX’s record-shattering IPO has minted thousands of new millionaires, unleashing a wave of high-end home shoppers poised to reshape Southern California’s already tight coastal housing markets.
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The record-shattering heat waves in Europe last week and in the western US in March are two recent examples.
Verb
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After all, plenty of cocktail enthusiasts already complain about mosquitoes ruining a summer evening.
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The company was saving a few bucks but ruining its product.
Verb
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Digital Realty already began demolishing the inside of the building, so Gray believed the agreement was set.
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But everyday people expressed their political outrage time and again, throwing rocks at and demolishing the houses of government officials, torching the king’s ships and forts and, eventually, marching to battle.
Verb
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As many little heartbeats as possible, just running around, wrecking stuff in the house.
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What is in tandem here is the exuberantly generative possibility of life itself (SCOBY, water) alongside the very synthetic polymers that are literally wrecking life on an individual and systemic level.
Verb
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Powell is accused of smashing the mug over the victim's head.
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France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country's public health agency said Sunday, as the head of the World Health Organization warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent and needs to do more to protect its citizens.
Verb
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The detection comes as communities across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta continue to grapple with the invasive species, which can rapidly reproduce and attach themselves to hard surfaces, clogging water intake pipes and damaging infrastructure while disrupting native ecosystems.
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Amid explosive fire conditions in southern Utah, the Cottonwood fire has ballooned to more than 144 square miles, damaging a ski resort, forcing evacuations and grounding firefighting aircraft in dangerous winds.
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Cite this Entry
“Desolating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolating. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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