as in pillaging
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in plundering
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despoiling
Noun
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Otherwise, illicit actors will continue to profit from their pillage.—
Justyna Gudzowska,
Foreign Affairs,
2 June 2025 -
These are curated from the titles that were most frequently picked up in the Criterion Closet, that magical room full of the company’s releases that visiting filmmakers and luminaries are invited to peruse and pillage.—
Vulture Staff,
Vulture,
15 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Dallas sacking Washington’s quarterbacks six times — Daniels four times — on Sunday upped the Commanders’ allowed sacks total to 22 over the last five games.—
Ben Standig,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
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Dallas sacking Washington’s quarterbacks six times — Daniels four times — on Sunday upped the Commanders’ allowed sacks total to 22 over the last five games.—
Ben Standig,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
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At the Jeu de Paume museum, Valland took many risks to safeguard its treasures and record the massive plunder of artwork across France.—
Pat Tompkins,
AFAR Media,
18 June 2025
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Trouble is, the elder Broadway managed to cheat St. Christopher out of his share of the plunder.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
13 June 2025
Noun
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Last Friday, Damien Marshall and other King & Spalding attorneys on behalf of MSG filed a memorandum of law in opposition to Oakley’s motion for what are known as spoliation sanctions, meaning a punishment for failure to preserve relevant evidence.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
14 May 2025
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Chain of Custody Issues: The longer the delay between an incident and preserving mobile evidence, the more opportunities exist for spoliation claims about data modification or tampering.—
Lars Daniel,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Researchers think that large, burrowing predators like may have driven the rapid evolution of stream-dwelling salamanders in Appalachia by introducing new levels of competition and predation.—
Jenny Lehmann,
Discover Magazine,
18 June 2025
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One possible explanation for this is that an obvious reaction might draw attention to their nests and leave their eggs more at risk of predation.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
16 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Despoiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despoiling. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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