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.
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Recent Examples of depredation
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
Powers and his wife Marilyn keep watch over the cattle for the Predator Conservation Alliance to help keep wolves and grizzly bears out of the herds and reduce livestock depredation.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
Keith Michael Lisa, 51, of Barnegat, was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of federal property, Habba announced Tuesday.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 19 Nov. 2025
Federal wildlife agents confirmed the two depredation events, which took place Friday and Saturday, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 Oct. 2025
Despite years of sitting on the sidelines, the United States has an opportunity to reassert itself in seeking to end the depredations of the junta and advance the cause of democracy in Myanmar.
—Dan Swift, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
Four people were arrested, and three were charged felony offenses of assaulting a federal officer, while the fourth was charged with misdemeanor offense of depredation of government property, according to a Department of Justice press release.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2025
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
Powers and his wife Marilyn keep watch over the cattle for the Predator Conservation Alliance to help keep wolves and grizzly bears out of the herds and reduce livestock depredation.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
Keith Michael Lisa, 51, of Barnegat, was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of federal property, Habba announced Tuesday.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 19 Nov. 2025
Federal wildlife agents confirmed the two depredation events, which took place Friday and Saturday, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 Oct. 2025
Despite years of sitting on the sidelines, the United States has an opportunity to reassert itself in seeking to end the depredations of the junta and advance the cause of democracy in Myanmar.
—Dan Swift, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
Four people were arrested, and three were charged felony offenses of assaulting a federal officer, while the fourth was charged with misdemeanor offense of depredation of government property, according to a Department of Justice press release.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredation
Noun
-
While extinctions are always multi-faceted, the extermination of some species can be almost directly linked to the insatiable appetites of modern humans.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
All of his family except Harris and two of his sisters was deported to the Nazis’ Treblinka extermination camp and ultimately murdered.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The conflict looks set to batter allies’ economies by driving inflation up and hitting economic growth, while analysts have questioned the feasibility of Washington’s goals — whether regime change, or destruction of Tehran’s nuclear program or its missile stockpiles.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The storm’s heavy rains caused widespread flooding that killed at least 43 people and led to the destruction of banana plantations, sorghum, beans, cassava, coffee and other crops as well as the loss of livestock.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
California lawmakers on Tuesday moved forward on a bill that could lead to the re-introduction of grizzly bears to the state, more than a century after the quarter-ton predators were hunted into local extinction.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Tony told us how large trawlers would go out farther into the water and catch more than locals did, gradually shrinking the cod population to near extinction.—
Akash Kapur,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
What followed was sheer amphibian slaughter — when the mating season started and the frogs were on the move, thousands would get run over.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Decades of this rhetoric have driven most Iranians—who have noticed that the wages of resistance are misery, hardship, and slaughter by their own wicked oppressors—to despair.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The world sees the massacres in Lebanon.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
However, that night’s 19-3 massacre against visiting Worchester was a harbinger of things to come.—
Staff Report,
Twin Cities,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But through this devastation came a discovery.—
John Lauritsen,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
But if the technology went rogue, or fell into the wrong hands, the devastation could be total.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Depredation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredation. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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