ravage

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

ravage

wreak great destruction or devastation: ravage the enemy camp

Not to be confused with:

ravish – abduct, rape, or carry away with emotion: ravish the young women

rav·age

(răv′ĭj)

v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages

v.tr.

1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town.

2. To pillage; sack: Enemy soldiers ravaged the village.

v.intr.

To wreak destruction.

1. The act or practice of pillaging or destroying: the marauders' ravage of the village.

a. Destruction, damage, or harm: The storm resulted in the ravage of the countryside.

b. ravages Destructive or harmful effects: the ravages of disease.

[French ravager, from Old French, to uproot, from ravir, to ravish; see ravish.]

rav′ag·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ravage

(ˈrævɪdʒ)

to cause extensive damage to

(often plural) destructive action: the ravages of time.

[C17: from French, from Old French ravir to snatch away, ravish]

ˈravagement n

ˈravager n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

rav•age

(ˈræv ɪdʒ)

v. -aged, -ag•ing,
n. v.t.

1. to damage or mar severely: a face ravaged by grief.

v.i.

2. to do ruinous damage.

3. ruinous damage: the ravages of war.

4. devastating or destructive action.

[1605–15; < French, Middle French ravir to ravish]

rav′ag•er, n.

ravage

Past participle: ravaged
Gerund: ravaging

Imperative
ravage
ravage

Present
I ravage
you ravage
he/she/it ravages
we ravage
you ravage
they ravage

Preterite
I ravaged
you ravaged
he/she/it ravaged
we ravaged
you ravaged
they ravaged

Present Continuous
I am ravaging
you are ravaging
he/she/it is ravaging
we are ravaging
you are ravaging
they are ravaging

Present Perfect
I have ravaged
you have ravaged
he/she/it has ravaged
we have ravaged
you have ravaged
they have ravaged

Past Continuous
I was ravaging
you were ravaging
he/she/it was ravaging
we were ravaging
you were ravaging
they were ravaging

Past Perfect
I had ravaged
you had ravaged
he/she/it had ravaged
we had ravaged
you had ravaged
they had ravaged

Future
I will ravage
you will ravage
he/she/it will ravage
we will ravage
you will ravage
they will ravage

Future Perfect
I will have ravaged
you will have ravaged
he/she/it will have ravaged
we will have ravaged
you will have ravaged
they will have ravaged

Future Continuous
I will be ravaging
you will be ravaging
he/she/it will be ravaging
we will be ravaging
you will be ravaging
they will be ravaging

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been ravaging
you have been ravaging
he/she/it has been ravaging
we have been ravaging
you have been ravaging
they have been ravaging

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been ravaging
you will have been ravaging
he/she/it will have been ravaging
we will have been ravaging
you will have been ravaging
they will have been ravaging

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been ravaging
you had been ravaging
he/she/it had been ravaging
we had been ravaging
you had been ravaging
they had been ravaging

Conditional
I would ravage
you would ravage
he/she/it would ravage
we would ravage
you would ravage
they would ravage

Past Conditional
I would have ravaged
you would have ravaged
he/she/it would have ravaged
we would have ravaged
you would have ravaged
they would have ravaged

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	ravage - (usually plural) a destructive action; "the ravages of time"; "the depredations of age and disease" depredation plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one demolition, wipeout, destruction - an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something
Verb	1.	ravage - make a pillaging or destructive raid on (a place), as in wartimes harry ruin, destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up"
	2.	ravage - cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion" devastate, lay waste to, scourge, desolate, waste ruin, destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up" ruin - reduce to ruins; "The country lay ruined after the war"

ravage

verb

1. destroy, ruin, devastate, wreck, shatter, gut, spoil, loot, demolish, plunder, desolate, sack, ransack, pillage, raze, lay waste, wreak havoc on, despoil, leave in ruins the soldiers had ravaged the village

plural noun

1. damage, destruction, devastation, desolation, waste, ruin, havoc, demolition, plunder, pillage, depredation, ruination, rapine, spoliation the ravages of a cold, wet climate

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ravage

verb

1. To destroy completely as or as if by conquering:

desolate, devastate, waste.

Idiom: lay waste.

2. To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war:

depredate, despoil, havoc, loot, pillage, plunder, ransack, rape, sack, spoliate, strip.

Archaic: harrow, spoil.

Translations

تَخْريب، خَراب

pustošit

hærgeødelægge

verwüsten

λεηλατώ

ravager

feldúl

leggja í auîn

devastare

postījumi

harap etmekhasar tahribat tahrip tahrip etmek

劫掠掠夺毁坏蹂躏

ravage

[ˈrævɪdʒ]

A. N ravages → estragos mpl
the ravages of time → los estragos del tiempo

B. VT → hacer estragos
the plague ravaged the town → la peste hizo estragos en el pueblo
the region was ravaged by floods → las inundaciones causaron estragos en la región, la región fue asolada por las inundaciones
a body ravaged by disease → un cuerpo desfigurado por la enfermedad
a picture ravaged by time → un cuadro muy deteriorado por el tiempo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ravage

[ˈrævɪdʒ] vt → ravager

ravage

n (of war) → verheerendes Wüten no pl; (of disease) → Wüten nt no pl, → Zerstörung f → (of durch); ravages (of war) → Verheerung f → (of durch); (of disease) → Zerstörung f → (of durch); the ravages of time → die Spuren pl → der Zeit; a face marked by the ravages of time → ein von der Zeit schwer gezeichnetes Gesicht

vt (= ruin) → verwüsten, verheeren; (= plunder) → plündern; ravaged by disease → von Krankheit schwer gezeichnet

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ravage

[ˈrævɪdʒ] vt (frm) → devastare

ravage

(ˈrӕvidʒ) verb

(of enemies, invaders etc) to cause great damage or destruction in, or to plunder (a town, country etc).

References in classic literature ?

While they are conquering Oz I'll get the Magic Belt, and then only the Nomes will remain to ravage the country."

View in context

The town itself is a famous old place, dating from the dim days of King Ethelred, when the Danes anchored their warships in the Kennet, and started from Reading to ravage all the land of Wessex; and here Ethelred and his brother Alfred fought and defeated them, Ethelred doing the praying and Alfred the fighting.

View in context

In the meantime Telegonus, while travelling in search of his father, lands on Ithaca and ravages the island: Odysseus comes out to defend his country, but is killed by his son unwittingly.

View in context

A state like this would ever be exposed to the invasions of those who were powerful and inclined to attack it; but, as has been already mentioned, its situation preserves it, as it is free from the inroads of foreigners; and for this reason the family slaves still remain quiet at Crete, while the Helots are perpetually revolting: for the Cretans take no part in foreign affairs, and it is but lately that any foreign troops have made an attack upon the island; and their ravages soon proved the ineffectualness of their laws.

View in context

On every side lay cultivated fields showing no sign of war and war's ravages. From the chimneys of the farmhouses thin ascensions of blue smoke signaled preparations for a day's peaceful toil.

View in context

I survived, through no personal virtue, but because I did not have the chemistry of a dipsomaniac and because I possessed an organism unusually resistant to the ravages of John Barleycorn.

View in context

You must guard the tree for nine days and nine nights from the ravages of two wild black wolves, who will try to harm it.

View in context

Miss Haldane met this difficulty with a suggestion, which could only have proceeded from a judgment already disturbed by the ravages of the tender passion.

View in context

The country thereabout had suffered severely from the ravages of war, having been occupied alternately

View in context

He who is the religious advocate of marriage robs whole millions of its sacred influence, and leaves them to the ravages of wholesale pollution.

View in context

Among these nations the Galles, who first alarmed the world in 1542, have remarkably distinguished themselves by the ravages they have committed, and the terror they have raised in this part of Africa.

View in context

Fortunately, in these regions, there is some sort of compensation for their ravages, since the natives gather these insects in great numbers and greedily eat them."