DESPOILING Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

despoiling 1 of 2

noun

as in plundering

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Dissimilar Words

despoiling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of despoil

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

Example Sentences

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 despoiling

Noun

Jude was painfully conscious of the despoiling of his creative talents. — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despoiling

Noun

In Nolan’s telling, his deceit and plundering portend the collapse of the Bronze Age—a foreboding warning about greedy, fading empires that feels a little too relevant.

— Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026
Some have traveled farther as part of colonial-era collections — as far as the British Museum — and been returned; a story unto itself about the plundering of the natural world in the age of empire, and institutions reckoning with their inheritance.

— Tom Page, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026

Definition of plundering

Verb

Sudan’s civil war, a conflict credibly described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, has seen violence matched only by the belligerents’ rapacity in pillaging the country’s riches.

— Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Sometimes the very entities owning these hospitals and nursing homes are purposely bankrupting them, pillaging them of their value to maximize the owners’ profits.

— Peter Ubel, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of pillaging

Noun

Following the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, burning, looting and other forms of mayhem broke out in Minneapolis and many other cities across America.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
Much of it can be subsistence looting, with people selling antiquities because their livelihoods have been disrupted by war.

— Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of looting

Verb

Meanwhile, the bubble wrap will be coming off against a marauding Denver defense.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026
Supposedly posing a threat to their idyll on the outskirts are various marauding splinter groups running amok through the barren wasteland of the American Mountain West.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of marauding

Verb

Detroit's pass rush sacked Smith five times for 44 yards, two weeks after sacking the New Orleans Saints' Tyler Shough five times in an overtime victory.

— CBS News, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
The Hurricanes were constantly in the backfield, sacking CMU quarterbacks four times.

— Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of sacking

Noun

To the family’s lawyer, Markus Stötzel, the case is a typical example of Nazi plunder in need of immediate restoration.

— Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 29 June 2026
The second — a fastball Horwitz hit about 100 mph for a double to right field — was the start of a Pirate plunder at Sutter Health Park.

— Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 18 June 2026

Definition of plunder

Noun

That compares with 21 depredations by wolves so far this year, with about $25,000 paid to ranchers whose cattle were killed by wolves.

— Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 23 Sep. 2026
The agency rarely gets involved to lethally remove a wolf who has been involved in depredation events, though this year the agency has intervened a few times.

— Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of depredation

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despoiling

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Style

“Despoiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despoiling. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of despoiling

noun

verb

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