Devast

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To ravage a place or thing so thoroughly that it is left ruined, empty, and barely able to recover
2. To bring total destruction upon something, leaving it in a state of wreckage or ruin
3. To lay waste to an area or object, causing damage so severe that little remains intact

Etymology: "Devast" is a clipped form of "devastate," which is the verb it is built on: the -ate ending was dropped, leaving the shorter verb meaning to wipe out completely. The longer word came into English from Latin "devastare," meaning to lay waste, a sense that still hangs over the shortened version today. The Latin root combines "de-," meaning thoroughly or completely, with "vastare," to lay waste or empty out, from "vastus," desolate or huge. So the core idea is of leaving a place emptied and ruined, not merely damaged. French "dévaster" carries the same sense, and English took its verb from the same Latin source.

Synonyms: devastate, ravage, ruin, lay waste, wreck

Antonyms: build, repair, restore