as in depredation
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Recent Examples of despoliation
On social media, Tan was pugilistic to the point of belligerence, casting his political enemies as corrupt malefactors responsible for the despoliation of his beloved city.
—
Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
In the face of such extensive despoliation, grassroots opposition has emerged.
—Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
The two latest examples of that despoliation are the Regina Bypass, an expensive highway completed in 2019, and the Global Transportation Hub, an expensive logistics center (canada’s premier inland port) built in 2009.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
From Central America to West Africa, Greece to Indonesia, Clapp serves up a stirring picture of the deliberate and surprisingly profitable despoliation of one half of the planet by the other.
—Ian Volner, New York Times, 1 May 2025
For that reason, the Abraham Accords lie in tatters - a despoliation very deliberately aimed at by Iran and Hamas via October 7.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Landscape exists to register ideas, like dispossession or despoliation, but not feelings.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023
Related Christopher Ciccone watched from the Radio City green room, thinking of his father and grandmother, who, like millions of other TV viewers, would see the show at home and be stunned by what appeared to be the on-air despoliation of a bride — by herself.
—Mary Gabriel, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2023
Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
In the face of such extensive despoliation, grassroots opposition has emerged.
—Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
The two latest examples of that despoliation are the Regina Bypass, an expensive highway completed in 2019, and the Global Transportation Hub, an expensive logistics center (canada’s premier inland port) built in 2009.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
From Central America to West Africa, Greece to Indonesia, Clapp serves up a stirring picture of the deliberate and surprisingly profitable despoliation of one half of the planet by the other.
—Ian Volner, New York Times, 1 May 2025
For that reason, the Abraham Accords lie in tatters - a despoliation very deliberately aimed at by Iran and Hamas via October 7.
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Landscape exists to register ideas, like dispossession or despoliation, but not feelings.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023
Related Christopher Ciccone watched from the Radio City green room, thinking of his father and grandmother, who, like millions of other TV viewers, would see the show at home and be stunned by what appeared to be the on-air despoliation of a bride — by herself.
—Mary Gabriel, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despoliation
Noun
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In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
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Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Officers said a security guard found the victim, a man in his 50s, tied up with duct tape in his car after the robbery.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
No one was injured in the robberies.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
And, as bad as all that looting was, the wealth that remained in Congo constituted only a small percentage of what was being made on markets globally, and from the technology those minerals powered.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Some of the demonstrations descended into shootings, looting and vandalism.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
It was revealed during that trial that Low's plundering of the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund exceeded $4 billion.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Nov. 2025
-
Aron Solomon on how the Meta AI copyright decision made libraries sitting ducks for AI plundering.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Amid the pillaging of homes, Roman magistrates were likely sent to the city to prevent an anarchic type of existence, based on ancient literary sources the authors referenced in the study.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Rutter, the club’s record £40m buy from Leeds United, was an instant hit last season with insatiable work rate and marauding runs until an ankle injury ruled him out from March for the rest of the campaign.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.—
Holden Frith,
TheWeek,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Venezuelan regime is broadly unpopular in Latin America; its socialism of plunder has sent millions of desperate people into Colombia and other states.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Despoliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despoliation. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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