despoil
verb (used with object)
to strip of possessions, things of value, etc.; rob; plunder; pillage.
have despoiled
-
present perfectof despoil.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
Artifishal, a new documentary about salmon, might, in less capable hands, have been a tiresome screed, another damning diary of how humans have despoiled the Earth.
From The Guardian ● May 8, 2019
Moreover, as it is only in human nature that they should regard us as those who have despoiled them, John must have no dealings with their son without their consent.
From Orange and Green A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
She left her home and spent three months in the Astor Library of New York, writing her Century of Dishonor, showing how we have despoiled the Indians and broken our treaties with them.
From Lives of Girls Who Became Famous by Sarah Knowles Bolton
Your relations are all dead—the state would have profited by your fortune instead of those whom you have despoiled.
From Mysteries of Paris, V3 by Eugène Sue
The legate left Paris on the 3rd of April, 1808, and the religious struggle for temporal interests commenced with the head of the church, whom Napoleon should either not have recognised, or not have despoiled.
From History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814 by M. (François-Auguste-Marie-Alexis) Mignet
