---
title: devastate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «devastate» in the school dictionary: To destroy or badly damage a place, so little is left. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# devastate

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, hurricane, Bushfires, old dog, flood, factory · **What happens:** destroy, damage, leave, make, feel, devastate · **To what, where:** place, little, someone, little island town, huge areas, Australia

<!-- .vabout -->
«devastate» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [devastate in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/devastate.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To destroy or badly damage a place, so little is left.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:m1:1
# text = To destroy or badly damage a place, so little is left.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	destroy	destroy	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	_
5	damage	damage	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	left	leave	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **destroy** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **damage** | infinitive |  | a place |  |  |  | badly *property* | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent place=Patient |
| 3 | **leave** | present · passive |  | little |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To make someone feel terribly shocked and sad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:m2:1
# text = To make someone feel terribly shocked and sad.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	feel	feel	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	terribly	terribly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	shocked	shocked	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	sad	sad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset someone=Product |
| 2 | **feel** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | shocked *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
devastating can also mean extremely strong or impressive, as in «a devastating goal».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:m3:1
# text = devastating can also mean extremely strong or impressive, as in «a devastating goal».
1	devastating	devastate	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	extremely	extremely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	impressive	impressive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	devastating	devastating	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	goal	goal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **mean** | can |  |  |  |  |  | strong *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hurricane devastated the little island town.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x1:1
# text = The hurricane devastated the little island town.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hurricane	hurricane	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	island	island	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | past | the hurricane | the little island town |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus town=Experiencer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bushfires devastated huge areas of forest in Australia.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x2:1
# text = Bushfires devastated huge areas of forest in Australia.
1	Bushfires	bushfire	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	areas	area	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	Australia	Australia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | past | Bushfires | huge areas of forest |  | Australia |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus area=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mia was devastated when her old dog died.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x3:1
# text = Mia was devastated when her old dog died.
1	Mia	Mia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	8	mark	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | past · passive |  | Mia |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **die** | past | Mia's old dog |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The flood devastated the farmers' crops.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x4:1
# text = The flood devastated the farmers' crops.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	flood	flood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	crops	crop	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | past | the flood | the farmers's crops |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus crop=Experiencer |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The news of the factory closing devastated the whole village.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x5:1
# text = The news of the factory closing devastated the whole village.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	factory	factory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	closing	close	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	xcomp	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **close** | gerund | the factory *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **devastate** | participle | the factory *not said here* | the whole village |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus village=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The team was devastated after losing in the last minute.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x6:1
# text = The team was devastated after losing in the last minute.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	losing	lose	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | past · passive |  | the team |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **lose** | gerund |  |  |  |  | minute |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She hit a devastating shot into the top corner.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x7:1
# text = She hit a devastating shot into the top corner.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hit	hit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	devastating	devastating	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	shot	shot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	top	top	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	corner	corner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hit** | past | She | a devastating shot |  |  |  | into the top corner *result* | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP PP.result»: agent=Agent shot=Patient into corner=Result |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The war devastated the city, but people rebuilt it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x8:1
# text = The war devastated the city, but people rebuilt it.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	devastated	devastate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	rebuilt	rebuild	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devastate** | past | the war | the city |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus city=Experiencer |
| 2 | **rebuild** | past | people | city |  |  |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Result |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He first sent him to kill the Chimaera, a monster which was at this time devastating the country.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devastate:x9:1
# text = He first sent him to kill the Chimaera, a monster which was at this time devastating the country.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	advmod	_	_
3	sent	send	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	Chimaera	Chimaera	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	monster	monster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	_
12	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
13	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	16	det	_	_
16	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	appos	_	_
17	devastating	devastate	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	16	acl	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | past | He | him *= he* |  |  |  | first *property* | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 2 | **kill** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the Chimaera |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chimaera=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | past | a monster |  |  |  | at this time |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **devastate** | gerund | this time *not said here* | the country |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus country=Experiencer |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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