Lewis & Short

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vasto, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. [id.; hence, Ital. guastar, and Fr. gāter], to make empty or vacant, to leave untenanted or uninhabited, to desert.

  1. I. Lit. (rare but class.): lex erat lata de vastato ac relicto foro, Cic. Sest. 24, 53: vastati agri sunt, Liv. 3, 32, 2: venator vastata lustra fugit, i.e. destitute of game, Val. Fl. 1, 480: pati terram stirpium asperitate vastari, to lie waste or untilled, Cic. N. D. 2, 39, 99.
  2. II. Transf., to empty or deprive of inhabitants, to lay waste, desolate, ravage, devastate; to ruin, destroy (the predom. signif. of the word; syn.: populor, vexo).
          1. (α) Absol.: cum equitatus liberius praedandi vastandique causā se in agros ejecerat, Caes. B. G. 5, 19.
          2. (β) With acc.: ipse ad vastandos depopulandosque fines Ambiorigis proficiscitur, Hirt. B. G. 8, 24: agros, Caes. B. G. 1, 11; Cat. 66, 12; Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 50, § 119 (with exinanire): Italiam (with diripere), id. Cat. 4, 6, 13: terram, id. N. D. 2, 39, 99: partem provinciae incursionibus, Caes. B. G. 5, 1: omnia caedibus, incendiis, ruinis, Hirt. B. G. 8, 25: omnia ferro ignique vastata, Liv. 7, 30, 15; 10, 12, 7: omnia (with invadere, polluere), Sall. J. 41, 9: omnia igni ferroque, Vell. 2, 110, 6: Tydides multā vastabat caede cruentus, Verg. A. 1, 471: omnia late vastant, id. G. 4, 16: fana Poenorum tumultu, Hor. C. 4, 4, 47: (zonae) vastantur frigore semper, Tib. 4, 1, 153: cuncta (panthera), Phaedr. 3, 2, 14: direpti vastatique classe, Tac. H. 2, 16: quos (Mardos) vastavit, id. A. 14, 23 fin.
            Pass.:             ipsi cultores arvaque maturis jam frugibus ut hostile solum vastabantur, Tac. H. 2, 87 fin.
            With abl. of that which is destroyed or removed: et latos vastant cultoribus agros, Verg. A. 8, 8: agrosque viris annosaque vastant oppida, Stat. Th. 3, 576.
    1. B. Trop.: ita conscientia mentem excitam vastabat, harassed, perplexed, Sall. C. 15, 5.

vastus, a, um, adj. [cf.: vanus, vacuus], empty, unoccupied, i.e. waste, desert.

  1. I. Lit. (so rare but class.; syn.: vacuus, desertus): genus agrorum propter pestilentiam vastum atque desertum, Cic. Agr. 2, 26, 69: lex erat lata vasto ac relicto foro, id. Sest. 24, 53: agrum vastum ac desertum habere, Liv. 28, 11, 10: vasta ac deserta urbs, id. 24, 3, 11; 28, 7, 12: vasta incendiis ruinisque urbs, id. 5, 53, 1: mons vastus ab naturā et humano cultu, uncultivated, Sall. J. 48, 3: urbs a defensoribus vasta, without, Liv. 23, 30, 7 (al. ex conj. vacua).
    1. B. Trop. (the fig. taken from tracts of country lying waste or untilled), uncultivated, unpolished, rude, rough, harsh: vultu motuque corporis vasti atque agrestes, Cic. de Or. 1, 25, 115: vastus homo atque foedus, id. ib. 1, 25, 117: vasti quidam et insubidi, Gell. 19, 9, 9: fugiemus crebras vocalium concursiones, quae vastam atque hiantem orationem reddunt, ut hoc est: baccae aeneae amoenissimae impendebant, Auct. Her. 4, 12, 18: omnia vasta ac temeraria esse, Liv. 24, 48, 7: littera vastior, too harsh-sounding, Cic. Or. 45, 153.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. Desolate, deserted: abs te viduae et vastae virgines sunt, made lonely, Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 1, 52 (Trag. v. 279 Vahl.): dies per silentium vastus, Tac. A. 3, 4.
    2. B. Wasted by destruction, laid waste, ravaged, devastated, destroyed (rare; cf. vastatus): fit vasta Troja, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 9, 130: jam hanc urbem ferro vastam faciet Peleus, Att. ap. Fest. pp. 372 and 373: haec ego vasta dabo, Verg. A. 9, 323: nec solum modo vastum hosti relictum, sed castellis etiam vicisque illatus ignis, Liv. 10, 12, 8.
    3. C. With the predom. idea of extent, vast, immense, enormous, huge, monstrous (syn.: ingens, immanis).
      1. 1. Of size: jamque fere pulvis ad caelum vasta videtur, Enn. ap. Non. 217, 11 (Ann. v. 286 Vahl.): immani et vastae insidens beluae, Cic. Rep. 2, 40, 67: vasta et immanis belua, id. Div. 1, 24, 49; cf.: vastissimae beluae, id. Rep. 2, 26, 49: elephanto beluarum nulla prudentior; ad figuram quae vastior? id. N. D. 1, 35, 97: summa erat vasto atque aperto mari, difficultas navigandi, Caes. B. G. 3, 12; cf.: in vastissimo atque apertissimo Oceano, id. ib. 3, 9, 7: fossa vastissima, Cic. Rep. 2, 6, 11: solitudines, id. ib. 2, 6, 19: campi, Verg. A. 3, 13: Charybdis, Lucr. 1, 722: antiquus crater, quem vastum vastior ipse Sustulit Aegides, Ov. M. 12, 236: antrum, Verg. A. 1, 52: hiatus speluncae, id. ib. 6, 237: suspectus turris, id. ib. 9, 530: manus, Ov. F. 2, 322: arma, Verg. A. 10, 768: corpus, Col. 7, 12, 3.
      2. 2. Transf., of degree, etc., immense, enormous, prodigious, vast, etc.: iter, i.e. on the vast ocean, Ov. M. 14, 438: certamen, Verg. A. 12, 553: impetus, Hor. C. 4, 14, 30: pugnae Cannensis clades vastissima, Gell. 5, 17, 5: tempestas, Col. 2, 20, 5; cf.: vapores vastissimi, id. 2, 20, 1: clamor, Verg. A. 10, 716; Ov. M. 12, 494: murmur, Verg. A. 1, 245: latratus, Col. 7, 12, 3: tonitru, Val. Fl. 1, 617: pondus, Verg. A. 5, 447; Ov. H. 9, 88.
      3. 3. Trop.: vastus animus, i.e. insatiable, Sall. C. 5, 4.
        Rarely with abstr. nouns: quam vasta potentia nostra est, Ov. M. 2, 520: varia vastaque scientia, Col. 1, pr. 28: nefas, Sen. Herc. Oet. 767.
        Adv.: vastē.
      1. 1. (Acc. to vastus, I. B.) Rudely, harshly: loqui non aspere, non vaste, non rustice, etc., Cic. de Or. 3, 12, 45: ne vastius diducantur verba, id. ib. 3, 43, 172.
      2. 2. (Acc. to II. B.) Widely, vastly, immensely, violently, enormously: vaste cedentia litora, Mel. 1, 1, 4: vastius insurgens decimae ruit impetus undae, Ov. M. 11, 530: vastius podagra correpti, Scrib. Comp. 107.