as in extermination
formal
a usually violent act in which something is damaged or destroyed or in which a person or animal is killed
The town had somehow escaped the depredations of enemy soldiers.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of depredation
Democrats never dare to criticize any of these Third World monsters, only the cops trying to protect American taxpayers from their cruel depredations.
—
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
More than $1 million has reportedly been paid to rancher claimants for wildlife depredation.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 18 May 2026
His nanny was his fierce protector and insulated him from the depredations of Nazis and their enablers, baptizing him and teaching him to handily hurl anti-Jewish epithets to fit in.
—Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
Federal prosecutors charged Castillo with depredation of government property.
—Brandon Downs, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
That means hunting, fishing, ranching, and basic depredation practices for wildlife management would all be banned — among countless other common practices like pest control.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 8 Apr. 2026
In those cases, the GFP says mountain lions were lethally removed due to livestock depredation, attacks on pets, or concerns and threats to public safety.
—Angela George, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 20 Mar. 2026
In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 28 Jan. 2026
Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
More than $1 million has reportedly been paid to rancher claimants for wildlife depredation.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 18 May 2026
His nanny was his fierce protector and insulated him from the depredations of Nazis and their enablers, baptizing him and teaching him to handily hurl anti-Jewish epithets to fit in.
—Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
Federal prosecutors charged Castillo with depredation of government property.
—Brandon Downs, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
That means hunting, fishing, ranching, and basic depredation practices for wildlife management would all be banned — among countless other common practices like pest control.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 8 Apr. 2026
In those cases, the GFP says mountain lions were lethally removed due to livestock depredation, attacks on pets, or concerns and threats to public safety.
—Angela George, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 20 Mar. 2026
In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 28 Jan. 2026
Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredation
Noun
-
Timothy Wong, technical director of MMPC, a pest management company that provides residential and commercial extermination, prevention, and property protection services, prioritizing environmentally friendly, natural pest control solutions.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
29 May 2026
-
Though the ideas of modern political Zionism long predate the Holocaust, Israel was established by the world community in response to the unimaginable atrocities and extermination perpetrated by the Nazis, who murdered one out of every three Jews on the planet.—
Michael W. Sonnenfeldt,
The Atlantic,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
He was indicted on three counts -- destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
-
Yes, the Cal State Fullerton softball team continued its destruction of the Big West Conference.—
Brian Robin,
Oc Register,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
According to this theory, those now-extinct megafauna—the giant ground sloths and the giant beavers, the mastodons and mammoths, and even the lions and dire wolves—were relatively quickly hunted to extinction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
The team’s Mediterranean Programme was devised in response to the exponential risk of extinction to the sea’s nearly 80 species of shark and ray.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
My mustang was rescued a night before slaughter through Skydog Sanctuary.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2026
-
But this would require a more discriminating choice of clients, to avoid aiding wars like Saudi Arabia’s brutal campaign in Yemen or Israel’s mass slaughter in Gaza.—
William Hartung,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
Honduran soldiers and police officers guard the site of a massacre in Trujillo, Honduras on May 21, 2026.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
-
Survivors and victims’ families were allowed to go inside the nightclub one final time on the week of the massacre’s ninth anniversary last year.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Pop says the devastation of Iran accounts for the impression Satrapi first made on him.—
Joobin Bekhrad,
Time,
10 June 2026
-
On Thursday, June 4, Good Grief, which details the making of the singer's first album in seven years and the devastation of loss she's faced, premiered at the Tribeca Festival.—
Ilana Kaplan,
PEOPLE,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Depredation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredation. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
