devastate

/ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/

//ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"devastate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“devastate” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,881. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,881
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-devastate · devastate · English

devastate · rank #45,881 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #45,881
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Denali

Nearest frequency peer: Denali (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “devastate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “devastate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

devastate vs devastated
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for devastate
PropertyValue
Headworddevastate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#45,881
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “devastate”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).devastatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Denali” (#45,880), “demoralized” (#45,879), “dimming” (#45,883). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “devastate” is #45,881. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around devastate (IPA /ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #45,881 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for devastate, with forms such as "ddevastate", "deavstate", and "devasatte". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "devastated", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin dēvastātus, perfect passive participle of dēvastō (“to lay waste, devastate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)); from dē- (augmentative prefix) + vastō (“to destroy, lay waste”). See vast. First attested in 1638. The correct English form is devastate, spelled D-E-V-A-S-T-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest.
  2. 2
    To destroy a whole collection of related ideas, beliefs, and strongly held opinions.
  3. 3
    To break beyond recovery or repair so that the only options are abandonment or the clearing away of useless remains (if any) and starting over.
  4. 4
    To greatly demoralize, to cause to suffer intense grief or dismay

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how devastate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Halifax in Canada was devastated by a ship exploding in 1917. SS Mont Blanc, a French vessel loaded with 2.9 kilotons of explosives, collided with the Imo.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dēvastātus, perfect passive participle of dēvastō (“to lay waste, devastate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)); from dē- (augmentative prefix) + vastō (“to destroy, lay waste”). See vast. First attested in 1638.

Synonyms

decimatedestroyrazeruin

This word in other languages

devastar(Español)dévaster(Français)verwüsten(Deutsch)devastar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddevastate
  • deavstate
  • devasatte
  • devasstate
  • devastaet
  • devastatte
  • devasttae
  • devasttate
  • devatsate
  • devsatate
  • devvastate
  • dveastate
  • edvastate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of devastate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddevastate1deavstate2devasatte2devasstate1devastaet2devastatte1devasttae2devasttate1
Edit distance from "devastate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "devastate"?
"devastate" is spelled D-E-V-A-S-T-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/.
What does "devastate" mean?
As a verb, "devastate" means: To ruin many or all things over a large area, such as most or all buildings of a city, or cities of a region, or trees of a forest.
What words are commonly confused with "devastate"?
"devastate" is commonly confused with "devastated". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "devastate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "devastate" is /ˈdɛv.ə.steɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "devastate"?
Borrowed from Latin dēvastātus, perfect passive participle of dēvastō (“to lay waste, devastate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)); from dē- (augmentative prefix) + vastō (“to destroy, lay waste”). See vast. First attested in 1638. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "devastate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

deferring#45,876Dalhousie#45,874cushioned#45,871Donatello#45,891

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

crockery13 variantsdrawdown13 variantsEsperanto13 variantsfarthing13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list