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
- ravagement noun
- ravager noun
Etymology
Origin of ravage
First recorded in 1605–15; from French, Middle French, equivalent to rav(ir) “to snatch away, ravish” + -age -age ( def. ); ravish
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.
A Substack post imagining an economy ravaged by artificial intelligence disruption caused a stir on social media on Monday and dragged the indexes down with it.
From Barron's
A Substack post imagining an economy ravaged by artificial intelligence caused a stir on social media Monday, highlighting the depth of investors’ concerns about the technology.
From Barron's
The damage caused to the agriculture sector ravaged the economy and lead to food shortages.
From Barron's
The firestorm ravaged Pacific Palisades and Altadena, killing 31, destroying more than 16,000 structures and contaminating others with toxins and heavy metals.
From Los Angeles Times
For much of the past decade, cord-cutting ravaged the industry, with tens of millions of households abandoning traditional pay TV in favor of streaming services.
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.
