as in looting
Related Words
Relevance
as in plundering
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
soldiers pillaging the countryside for anything of value
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 pillaging
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
More than a dozen others immediately flooded the shattered entrance, pillaging the place — breaking display cases and grabbing thousands of dollars in jewelry.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The internet, too, has rewired our brains in countless ways, overwhelming us with information while pillaging our attention spans.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025
If peaceable trading isn't your dream, consider the corsair life, pillaging other ships for their precious cargo.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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
Verb
Certainly, its portrait of a futuristic society dominated by raping, pillaging youth gangs speaking a bizarre Russian-English hybrid slang struck a few different nerves — as did its tale of one teenage sociopath’s questionable reprogramming back into society after a stint in prison.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
More than a dozen others immediately flooded the shattered entrance, pillaging the place — breaking display cases and grabbing thousands of dollars in jewelry.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The internet, too, has rewired our brains in countless ways, overwhelming us with information while pillaging our attention spans.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025
If peaceable trading isn't your dream, consider the corsair life, pillaging other ships for their precious cargo.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillaging
Noun
-
Books permit these corporations—many of them whose foundations are tied to European colonialism and the history of expropriation and looting—to be authors in the telling of history and culture.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
-
There were fights and looting, and by the afternoon, a fire was set at a shop on West Madison Street, according to the documentary notes.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
So, the Board of Supervisors, through the County Executive Officer, has pirated the Treasurer’s office and is now plundering it.—
John Moorlach,
Oc Register,
2 Mar. 2026
-
If there really was a class of unaccountable, libertine global élites plundering the world, then wasn’t Trump obviously a member?—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Johnson, who is currently on parole for robbery until 2027, has an extensive criminal record that includes a whopping 131 arrests since he was first busted for a Bronx assault in 1995, cops said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
In 2001, Jeremy Puckett was charged with murder and robbery in the 1998 homicide of Anthony Galati, who was found dead along White Rock Road in eastern Sacramento County.—
Theresa Clift,
Sacbee.com,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ozzy Lusth is marauding through the jungle, Sandra Diaz-Twine is lunging out of a shelter, and Johnny Fairplay’s real grandmother fake dies.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
-
But their deployment, marauding the streets of American communities, operating with military posture and lethal force, supersedes that mission and strikes at the heart of constitutional governance.—
Larry Pino,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Getty Images Tottenham Hotspur are searching for their eighth manager/head coach (interim and permanent) since 2019 after sacking Thomas Frank on Wednesday amid a run of two wins in 17 Premier League games.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Seattle swarmed quarterback Drake Maye all game, sacking him six times and forcing three turnovers, leaving New England scoreless through the first three quarters.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
The emerging city also became home to Sobaipuri people, an O'odham band who fled Apache raiding in their San Pedro Valley home.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
AZCentral.com,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The former prince is still under investigation, and with police raiding his homes and offices, there’s still a lot that could come out.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
“Pillaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillaging. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
