desolating
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Desolate \Des"o*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desolated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desolating.]
1.To make desolate; to leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood. [1913 Webster]
2.To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, a fire desolates a city. [1913 Webster]
Constructed in the very heart of a desolating war.— Sparks.[1913 Webster]