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
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
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
Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredations
Noun
-
Instant extinctions are not limited to mechanical innovations like photography and cinematography, however.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
-
Although the cartilaginous fish have survived the last five extinctions our planet has faces, more than a third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, habitat loss and climate change.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Noun
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Tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians were killed by the RSF in massacres after the capture of the Sudanese city of El Fasher alone last year.—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
9 June 2026
-
Most significantly, Lepore found that readers wanted to know the full story of their country—the progress and the revanchism, the beauty and the ugliness, the racial massacres and the Indian New Deal.—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Hands-down one of the most disgusting movies ever made (a compliment), the film finds the indefatigable slasher, who was decapitated at the end of Terrifier 2, reattaching his head and commencing his ritual slaughters.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Depredations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredations. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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