Dictionary.com

ravage

[ rav-ij ]
/ ˈræv ɪdʒ /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: ravage / ravaged / ravages / ravaging on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), rav·aged, rav·ag·ing.
to work havoc upon; damage or mar by ravages: a face ravaged by grief.
verb (used without object), rav·aged, rav·ag·ing.
to work havoc; do ruinous damage.
noun
havoc; ruinous damage: the ravages of war.
devastating or destructive action.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.
His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of ravage

First recorded in 1605–15; from French, Middle French, equivalent to rav(ir) “to snatch away, ravish” + -age noun suffix; see ravish, -age

synonym study for ravage

1. 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 WORDS FROM ravage

rav·age·ment, nounrav·ag·er, nounun·rav·aged, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ravage

ravage , ravish
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to ravage

consume, damage, demolish, devastate, disrupt, gut, impair, overrun, overwhelm, pillage, plunder, raze, ruin, shatter, wreck, annihilate, capture, cream, crush, desecrate

How to use ravage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ravage

ravage
/ (ˈrævɪdʒ) /
verb
to cause extensive damage to
noun
(often plural) destructive actionthe ravages of time

Derived forms of ravage

ravagement, nounravager, noun

Word Origin for ravage

C17: from French, from Old French ravir to snatch away, ravish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK