Synonyms

spoliate

American

[spoh-lee-eyt] / ˈspoʊ liˌeɪt /

verb (used with or without object)

spoliated, spoliating

to plunder, rob, or ruin.

spoliate British

/ ˈspəʊlɪˌeɪt /

verb

a less common word for despoil

"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

Other Word Forms

spoliator noun

Etymology

Origin of spoliate

1715–25; < Latin spoliātus, past participle of spoliāre to spoil. See spoil, -ate ¹

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.

Spoliate, spō′li-āt, v.t. to spoil, to plunder, to pillage.—v.i. to practise robbery.—ns.

From Project Gutenberg

But the other great whig families who had obtained this honour, and who had done something more for it than spoliate their church and betray their king, set up their backs against this claim of the Egremonts.

From Project Gutenberg

"He intends to spoliate Austria as mercilessly as he formerly plundered Hamburg and the whole of Northern Germany," said the emperor, shrugging his shoulders.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023