as in exterminations
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 depredations
This also lines up with the DNR’s data, which shows that most wolf depredations on hunting dogs take place during the hound training season in July and August, as well as during hunting season in the fall.
—
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
Much of Russian research never fully recovered from the depredations of the Stalin era.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, Idaho Wildlife Services investigated 99 wolf depredations.
—Nathan Rott, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
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
Much of Russian research never fully recovered from the depredations of the Stalin era.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, Idaho Wildlife Services investigated 99 wolf depredations.
—Nathan Rott, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredations
Noun
-
All part of our great age of extinctions.—
Robert Minhinnick,
The Dial,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Yet, there are some extinctions that have felt significantly more tragic than others.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Torture, mutilations, massacres.—
Greg Grandin
September 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Syria’s current government has in some cases released Assadist figures accused of massacres and appointed former militia leaders accused of crimes against civilians to high ranks in the new army.—
Robin Yassin-Kassab,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Depredations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredations. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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