devastate (devastat)

t.; pret. and pp. devastated, ppr. devastating. pp. of dev astare, lay waste (see devast ), waste; ravage; make desolate. In the midst of war Cyprus was again, for the third time since the Black Death, devastated by the plague. Stubbs , Medieval and Modern Hist., p. 200. All the tides Of death and change might rise And devastate the world, yet I could see This steady shining spark Should live eternally. C. Thaxter , Footprints in the Sand.