Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Devastation

Devastation , noun

[Compare French dévastation.]

1.
The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste.
Even now the devastation is begun, And half the business of destruction done. — Goldsmith
2.
(Law) Waste of the goods of the deceased by an executor or administrator. — Blackstone