devastation

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
devastate /ˈdɛvəsteɪt/

▶verb

• 1 destroy or ruin.

• 2 cause (someone) severe and overwhelming shock or grief.

– derivatives
devastation noun,
devastator noun.

– origin C17 (earlier (ME) as devastation): from L. devastat-, devastare, from de- ‘thoroughly’ + vastare ‘lay waste’.