The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

detest v. despise, loathe, hate, abhor, execrate, abominate: They
served turnips, which I detest, and sat me next to Ida, whom I
also detest.
detour n. 1 diversion, deviation, circuitous route or way, roundabout
way, bypass: The detour took us five miles out of our way.
--v. 2 deviate, turn (away) from, divert, bypass: I detoured
from the main road and took a short cut.
detract v. detract from. diminish, reduce, take away from, subtract
from, lessen, depreciate, disparage: Once you are in the public
eye, your slightest fault detracts from your reputation.
detriment n. disadvantage, drawback, liability; damage, harm, ill,
impairment, injury, hurt, loss: He has a tendency to support
lost causes, to his own detriment. Seeds survive without
detriment where their plants would perish.
detrimental
adj. disadvantageous, harmful, injurious, hurtful, damaging,
deleterious, destructive, prejudicial, adverse, unfavourable,
inimical, pernicious: I know nothing detrimental about either
one of them.
devastate v. 1 lay waste, ravage, destroy, waste, sack, raze, ruin,
desolate, spoil, wreck, demolish, level, flatten, gut,
obliterate: The island was completely devastated by the tidal
wave that followed the typhoon. 2 disconcert, confound,
discomfit, take aback, nonplus, shatter, overwhelm, abash,
shock; humiliate, mortify, embarrass, chagrin, Colloq floor, US
discombobulate: She was devastated by the news of Bertie's
expulsion from college.
devastating
adj. 1 keen, incisive, mordant, penetrating, trenchant,
telling; sardonic, sarcastic, bitter, acid, caustic, savage,
satirical, virulent, vitriolic: Because of his bland manner,
his devastating wit often caught people by surprise. 2
ravishing, captivating, enthralling, stunning, overpowering,
bewitching, spellbinding; spectacular: Kathy was wearing a
devastating black silk dress.