ravage

American  

[rav-ij] / ˈræv ɪdʒ /

verb (used with object)

ravaged, ravaging

1. to work havoc upon; damage or mar by ruinous or destructive action.

   a face ravaged by grief.

   Synonyms:

   sack, pillage, plunder, despoil, ruin

   Antonyms:

   repair, build

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verb (used without object)

ravaged, ravaging

1. to work havoc; do ruinous damage.

noun

1. havoc; ruinous damage.

   the ravages of war.

2. devastating or destructive action.

   Synonyms:

   desolation, waste, ruin

   Antonyms:

   creation

ravage British  

/ ˈrævɪdʒ /

verb

1. to cause extensive damage to

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noun

1. (often plural) destructive action

   the ravages of time

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

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

If Percy attacked the giant, the hydra would ravage the city.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• consume
• damage
• demolish
• devastate
• disrupt
• gut
• impair
• overrun
• overwhelm
• pillage
• plunder
• raze
• ruin
• shatter
• sweep away
• wreck