as in plundered
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
soldiers pillaging the countryside for anything of value
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pillaged
North Texas — whose roster was pillaged in the portal and saw its top players leave for Oklahoma State alongside former head coach Eric Morris — have signed 42 transfers.
—
Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Many prehistoric structures were pillaged for rock, but a remarkable number are intact.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
At the same time, members of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition had pillaged and/or burned at least 410 residences and other buildings, including six schools, health centers and local nongovernmental organizations during the period.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Many prehistoric structures were pillaged for rock, but a remarkable number are intact.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
At the same time, members of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition had pillaged and/or burned at least 410 residences and other buildings, including six schools, health centers and local nongovernmental organizations during the period.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillaged
Verb
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But Klaasen didn’t hold back and shared an 80-run stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made 21, and then Salil Arora (30 not out) plundered three sixes and two fours as Hyderabad notched its fifth straight win.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Five years after the Halifax Resolves were adopted, the British army briefly occupied the town and plundered its homes, according to the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites and Properties.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The inscriptions on the tablets at the Kuthodaw Pagoda were originally inlaid with gold, but the gold was looted during the British colonial period.—
Ethan Teekah,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
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The 2025 Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act, or HEAR Act, expands on a 2016 law, signed by President Barack Obama, that permits victims and descendants of victims of the Holocaust to lay legal claim to works of art looted by the Nazis or sold to the Nazis under false pretenses.—
Jackie Hajdenberg,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
Verb
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Meanwhile, Andy Sachs (Hathaway) has just been sacked from her respected position as an award-winning reporter at a vital, forward-thinking political news outlet.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 May 2026
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While Troy may well have been sacked in a war, historians are largely unwilling to accept that it was ever destroyed by a crack team of Greek soldiers hidden inside a giant wooden horse.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The five autism service centers raided by federal law enforcement on Tuesday as part of an apparent series of fraud investigations all utilize money from the same state program that two other providers have already pleaded guilty to stealing from.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
2 May 2026
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Both restaurants, which were allegedly used in gambling operations, were raided by the FBI Wednesday.—
Alexandra Kukulka,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pillaged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillaged. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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