ravish
- to fill with strong emotion, especially joy.
- to seize and carry off by force.
- to carry off (a woman) by force.
- to rape (a woman).
Origin of ravish
Synonyms for ravish
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for ravish
spellbind, bewitch, enthrall, draw, allure, fascinate, mesmerize, trance, captivate, please, entrance, delight, hypnotize, overjoy, charm, enrapture, hold, attract, magnetize, transportExamples from the Web for ravish
Contemporary Examples of ravish
Next they wanted to know if Hill had told "the black men to ravish all the white women."
Historical Examples of ravish
It was, indeed, filled with all that might dazzle and ravish the sight.
Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 3 (of 3)James Athearn Jones
What war could ravish, commerce could bestow, And he returned a friend, who came a foe.
Essay on ManAlexander Pope
I will engage them conversationally and ravish them with erect and quivering adjectives.
Fantazius MallareBen Hecht
The danger that England or France might ravish it away from us came to the fore.
The War With Mexico, Volume II (of 2)Justin H. Smith
The law of rape, until 1849, used these words: "If any man do ravish a woman," &c.
A Defence of VirginiaRobert L. Dabney
ravish
- (often passive) to give great delight to; enrapture
- to rape
- archaic to carry off by force
Word Origin for ravish
Word Origin and History for ravish
c.1300, "to seize (someone) by violence, carry (a person, especially a woman) away," from Old French raviss-, present participle stem of ravir "to seize, take away hastily," from Vulgar Latin *rapire, from Latin rapere "to seize and carry off, carry away suddenly, hurry away" (see rapid). Meaning "to commit rape upon" is recorded from mid-15c. Related: Ravished; ravishing.