Can "so as to" describe result or consequence?

Question

?1.The power of the earthquake was devastating, so as to kill hundreds of thousands of people.

I wrote "so as to" to describe the result of "killing hundreds of thousands of people", but is it really possible to use "so as to" to describe the result like that?

I'm not talking about the below case where "so" is modifying "devastating"

2.?The power of the earthquake was so devastating as to kill hundreds of thousands of people.

I'm curious whether it's really possible to use "so" to describe result or consequence when "so" is separated from the adjective "so" is modifying.

I think #1 and #2 have the same meaning and can be interchangeable.

Please write some example of the case I'm dealing with.

GPY · Accepted Answer

fire1?1.The power of the earthquake was devastating, so as to kill hundreds of thousands of people.

Opinions about this sentence may vary. To me it doesn't feel quite right. However, better examples of "so as to" describing result, as opposed to purpose, ought to exist. This is a randomly Googled example where "result" seems the intention:

The stage was rotated one hundred and eighty degrees and rose so as to reach the level of the illuminated cubicle.

By the way, you commonly make spacing errors in your numbered points. The spacing should be like this:

?1. The power of the earthquake was devastating ...

fire1I think #1 and #2 have the same meaning and can be interchangeable.

They do not mean exactly the same thing, albeit the practical difference usually may not be very important. As you point out, in (2) the word "so" modifies "devastating", which is not the case in (1).

Can "so as to" describe result or consequence?

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