ravage

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

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

Etymology

From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

depredation

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