Desolate
Desolate verb - To bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of.
Usage example: totally desolated the city with aerial bombs
Devastate is a synonym for desolate in destroy topic. In some cases you can use "Devastate" instead a verb "Desolate", when it comes to topics like activity, help, ravage, despoil. popular alternative
Devastate
Devastate verb - To bring destruction to (something) through violent action.
Usage example: the city was devastated, first by the earthquake and then by fires
Desolate is a synonym for devastate in destroy topic. You can use "Desolate" instead the word "Devastate" as a verb or an adjective, if it concerns topics such as help, demolish, despoil. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Common collocations
| country | desolate country | devastate country |
Cite this Source
Devastate and Desolate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/desolate/devastate
Desolate & Devastate. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/desolate/devastate>.
Devastate or Desolate. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/desolate/devastate.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "desolate" and "devastate" have occurred on timeline