devastante

devastating

adjective deh-vah-STAN-teh Rare

Also means

overwhelming

Usage Note

Devastante is the present participle of devastare used as an adjective, and is invariable for gender: un terremoto devastante, una crisi devastante. The plural adds -i: effetti devastanti. It is used both literally (devastating earthquake) and figuratively (a devastating argument, a devastating performance — colloquially meaning impressively powerful).

Examples

"L'incendio ha avuto un effetto devastante sul bosco."

Natural Translation

The fire had a devastating effect on the forest.

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