1.
You can use ~ to emphasize how bad or unpleasant something is.
The demise of the industry has caused ~ misery to thousands of hard-working tradesmen...
This might do ~ damage to her health.
ADJ: ADJ n emphasis
2.
You can use ~ to emphasize that an amount or quantity is very large, especially when you are not sure how large it is.
...the nation’s ~ millions of anglers.
ADJ: ADJ n emphasis