ravaged
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ravaged
First recorded in 1650–60; ravage ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective; ravage ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb
Explanation
When something is ravaged, it's ruined. A terrible fire could leave behind nothing but the ravaged remains of your house and possessions. Use the adjective ravaged when you describe something that's been wrecked, especially in a violent way. War tends to leave ravaged cities behind, and even a high wind can result in a ravaged back yard, strewn with tree branches. The French root of ravaged is ravager, "lay waste or devastate," which comes from the Old French ravage, "destroy," or most commonly, "destroy by flood."
Vocabulary lists containing ravaged
This Week in Words: September 4 - 8, 2017
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This Week in Words: March 17- 23, 2018
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Salt to the Sea
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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 wildfires in central Spain have ravaged tens of thousands of hectares of land.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Several French departments have recently been ravaged by wildfires during a series of unusual and prolonged heatwaves that have swept across Europe this summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The floods come a year after the region was ravaged by floodwaters over the Fourth of July weekend in a disaster that killed more than 100 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Guitars take the place of shovels, as Henry now repays Carlos’ kindness by helping to save the land that Carlos assumes is ravaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Plants she could count on earlier were ravaged by baboons.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
