Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To bring heavy destruction on; devastate.
  • intransitive verb To pillage; sack.
  • intransitive verb To wreak destruction.
  • noun The act or practice of pillaging or destroying.
  • noun Destruction, damage, or harm.
  • noun Destructive or harmful effects.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Desolation or destruction wrought by the violent action of men or beasts, or by physical or moral causes; devastation; havoc; waste; ruin: as, the ravage of a lion; the ravages of fire or tempest; the ravages of an invading army; the ravages of passion or grief.
  • noun Synonyms Pillage, plunder, spoliation, despoilment. These words all apply not to the treatment of people directly, but to the destruction or appropriation of property.
  • To desolate violently; lay waste, as by force, storm, etc.; commit havoc on; devastate; pillage; despoil.
  • Synonyms To plunder, waste. See the noun.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction; devastation; havoc; waste
  • transitive verb To lay waste by force; to desolate by violence; to commit havoc or devastation upon; to spoil; to plunder; to consume.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To devastate or destroy something
  • verb transitive To pillage or sack something, to lay waste to something
  • verb intransitive To wreak destruction
  • noun Grievous damage or havoc
  • noun Depredation or devastation

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
  • verb make a pillaging or destructive raid on (a place), as in wartimes
  • noun (usually plural) a destructive action

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French ravager, from Old French, to uproot, from ravir, to ravish; see ravish.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French ravage ("ravage, havoc, spoil"), from ravir ("to bear away suddenly"), from Latin rapere ("to snatch, seize"), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (arpazō, "to seize")

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