as in plundered
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
the burglars despoiled the art museum in search of treasures they thought they could sell to a fence
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Recent Examples of despoiled
In the 21st century, oil extraction has become a serious threat to Ecuadoran Amazonia, with large swaths of forest, often located in Indigenous territories, despoiled by the release of wastewater from the wells.
—
Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despoiled
Verb
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Last fall, copper thieves plundered about a dozen public streetlights over three city blocks, leaving their neighborhood in the dark.—
Gavin J. Quinton,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
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The last round of expansion, adding Seattle and Vancouver, came at significant cost to the league’s six original franchises, which had their rosters plundered in the expansion draft.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a landscape of sequels and overly pillaged IP, the Stranger Things finale is finite and close-ended, the credits rolling once and for all.—
Yohana Desta,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2026
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Many prehistoric structures were pillaged for rock, but a remarkable number are intact.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Buildings burned to the ground; businesses were looted.—
Ruby Cramer,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
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For months, mausoleums in the graveyard, some more than a hundred years old, were being looted in the dead of night, police said.—
Gaya Gupta,
Washington Post,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And because only days before the February 2021 surgery Mahomes had scrambled a stupefying 497 yards behind the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball or being sacked in a 31-9 drubbing by Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Jan. 2026
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Ward was also sacked 55 times, the most in the league.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despoiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despoiled. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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