DEPREDATION Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

depredation

noun

Definition of depredation

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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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 As the Shiite arc of alliance weakens from Iran to Lebanon due to the US/Israeli depredation of Tehran’s power, Sunni states look set to fill the vacuum. — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 According to the Montana Grizzly Bear Conflict Dashboard, the state has recorded 101 conflicts so far this year, including 30 livestock depredations and 34 encounters with humans. — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026 No amount of macho beatdowns in the UFC cage matches on the White House lawn will make anyone forget Epstein’s depredations. — Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 18 June 2026 The striped bass shark depredations have also been occurring off Chatham’s Monomoy Island — a hotspot for seals, which attract great white sharks. — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 15 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredation

Noun

With her memory gradually coming back, Juliette now recalls a potential path toward neutralizing the threat of extermination.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
The chain of events that led to another extermination began when Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan captured their season 2 nemesis, the Dama (Lisa Emery), after the big bad had her men attack them.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of extermination

Noun

Since October 2023, the number and severity of settler attacks have skyrocketed, including arson and other destruction of property, the killing of livestock, violent assaults and murder, taking place almost every day.

— Kamel Musallet, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2026
While the film has long been remembered for ambition, excess, and destruction, Tyga saw another narrative waiting beneath the chaos—a love story.

— Desjah Altvater, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of destruction

Noun

This system plays a role in modulating stress responsivity, fear extinction, emotional memory consolidation, and sleep–wake regulation.

— Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
But this is more important, in respect to the extinction crisis and the role the reptile trade plays in the global wildlife and exotic animal trade.

— Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of extinction

Noun

Or an announcement that wildlife officials are planning a statewide slaughter of black bears.

— Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2026
Reynolds also described unsanitary conditions due to the slaughter area being outdoors with dirt and gravel.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

Definition of slaughter

Noun

In 2022, 36 people were killed, 24 of them children, in a massacre at a childcare center in the northeast, believed to be the country’s deadliest incident of its kind.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and knife stormed into a nursery in the country's north and murdered 24 children and 12 adults in one of Thailand's deadliest massacres.

— CBS News, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of massacre

Noun

Scientists expect more wildfire devastation as people move closer to danger and climate change ups wildfire risk.

— Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026
However, the article emphasizes socialism's historical failures, citing the collapse of the Soviet Union and Venezuela's severe economic devastation under socialist policies.

— Mike Patton, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of devastation

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depredating

depredation

depredations

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Style

“Depredation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredation. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of depredation

noun

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