ravage
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
havoc; ruinous damage.
the ravages of war.
-
devastating or destructive action.
- Synonyms:
- desolation, waste, ruin
- Antonyms:
- creation
verb
noun
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ravage
First recorded in 1605–15; from French, Middle French, equivalent to rav(ir) “to snatch away, ravish” + -age -age ( def. ); see ravish
Explanation
The word ravage can be used as a noun or a verb meaning destruction or to destroy. In a war, bombs and the attacking army will ravage the country under siege. When ravage is used as a noun, you usually see it in the plural. Beware of the ravages of drugs on your body and your life. The city has almost been destroyed by the ravages of poverty and disaster. Often you see it paired with the word, time, to describe how things fall apart as they age. The ravages of time may be apparent in the lined faces and hunched postures of your grandparents.
Vocabulary lists containing ravage
The Declaration of Independence
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"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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A Long Way Gone
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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.
The Citrini selloff latched onto the market’s recent paranoia that artificial intelligence could ravage established players in a range of industries.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
The Antonine Plague, perhaps a form of smallpox, had begun to ravage the empire, as it would for more than a decade.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
Then, in 2013, a mysterious disease linked to a marine heat wave began to ravage the population.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025
The parents said the fire service arrived "really quickly" but it had "felt like forever" as they were watching the fire ravage their home.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2025
‘You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
