ravage
[ rav-ij ]
/ ˈræv ɪdʒ /
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.
SYNONYMS FOR ravage
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, noun rav·ag·er, noun un·rav·aged, adjectiveWords nearby ravage
raurkela,
rauschenberg,
rauschenbusch,
rauwolfia,
rav,
ravage,
ravana,
ravc,
rave,
rave hook,
rave-up
Example sentences from the Web for ravages
British Dictionary definitions for ravages
ravage
/ (ˈrævɪdʒ) /
verb
to cause extensive damage to
noun
(often plural)
destructive action
the ravages of time
Derived forms of ravage
ravagement, noun ravager, nounWord Origin for ravage
C17: from French, from Old French
ravir to snatch away,
ravish