ravage

[rav-ij]

verb (used with object)

ravaged, ravaging 

1. to work havoc upon; damage or mar by ruinous or destructive action.

   a face ravaged by grief.

   Synonyms: sack, pillage, plunder, despoil, ruin
   Antonyms: repair, build

verb (used without object)

ravaged, ravaging 

1. to work havoc; do ruinous damage.

noun

1. havoc; ruinous damage.

   the ravages of war.

2. devastating or destructive action.

   Synonyms: desolation, waste, ruin
   Antonyms: creation

ravage

/ ˈrævɪdʒ /

verb

1. to cause extensive damage to

noun

1. (often plural) destructive action

   the ravages of time

Other Word Forms

• ravager noun
• ravagement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ravage¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from French, Middle French, equivalent to rav(ir) “to snatch away, ravish” + -age -age ( def. ); ravish

Word History and Origins

Origin of ravage¹

C17: from French, from Old French ravir to snatch away, _ravish

Synonym Study

Ravage, devastate, lay waste all refer, in their literal application, to the wholesale destruction of a countryside by an invading army (or something comparable). Lay waste has remained the closest to the original meaning of destruction of land: The invading army laid waste the towns along the coast. But ravage and devastate are used in reference to other types of violent destruction and may also have a purely figurative application. Ravage is often used of the results of epidemics: The Black Plague ravaged 14th-century Europe; and even of the effect of disease or suffering on the human countenance: a face ravaged by despair. Devastate, in addition to its concrete meaning ( vast areas devastated by bombs ), may be used figuratively: a devastating remark.

Example Sentences

In an L.A. ravaged by fires, ICE and a doom-stricken mood in its hallmark entertainment industries, Oasis’ return is a rare spectacle to look forward to as well.

From Los Angeles Times

Both have both been ravaged by floods after extreme monsoon rains.

From BBC

Luce said there are plans to offer free admission to first responders as well as to residents of Pacific Palisades and Altadena, which was ravaged by the Eaton fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Voters here are concerned with policies that affect their water supply and forests, given that the timber industry limps along here and fires have ravaged the area in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times

“These last few months have been really difficult,” Tonatiuh tells me, referencing the recent ICE raids that have ravaged the fabric of the city.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• consume 
• damage 
• demolish 
• devastate 
• disrupt 
• gut 
• impair 
• overrun 
• overwhelm 
• pillage 
• plunder 
• raze 
• ruin 
• shatter 
• sweep away www.thesaurus.com
• wreck