despoliation
Americannoun
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the act of plundering.
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the fact or circumstance of being plundered.
noun
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the act of despoiling; plunder or pillage
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the state of being despoiled
Etymology
Origin of despoliation
1650–60; < Late Latin dēspoliātiōn- (stem of dēspoliātiō ), equivalent to Latin dēspoliāt ( us ) (past participle of dēspoliāre; see despoil) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Matt: Environmental despoliation appears multiple times in “Andor.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2022
They drove industry, which drove the despoliation of the planet.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2021
But the application of modern science and engineering to economic affairs also set in motion a ruinous despoliation of the planet.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2021
Published in 1972, Le Guin’s book asserted that colonialism, extractivism, and environmental despoliation are endemic to humankind, and we surely haven’t proved her wrong in the years since.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2020
Day and night the game went on without abatement, the game of despoliation.
From The Trail of '98 A Northland Romance by Robert W. (Robert William) Service
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
