PREDATION Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

predation

noun

Definition of predation

as in depredation

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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 predation At the time, the media mainly treated Stodden as a punchline while failing to hold Hutchison accountable for his predation. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 23 July 2026 The remarkable encounter offered passengers a front-row seat to one of nature's most powerful displays of predation in Monterey Bay. — Usa Today, USA Today, 22 July 2026 García and his colleagues reviewed four specific predation events observed at multiple locations across the tropics by species in the family Cranaidae of the order Opiliones. — Jay Kakade july 13, New Atlas, 14 July 2026 There were 267 investigations opened by California wildlife officials into wolf-livestock predation in 2025, up from 74 the previous year. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for predation

Recent Examples of Synonyms for predation

Noun

She was charged with depredation against federal property and destruction of veterans’ memorials.

— Liam Scott, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2026
Plus the farmers there see it as a useful depredation tool and the locals like the meat (more on that below).

— Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of depredation

Noun

However, the present tax system does not encourage conservation but rather encourages spoliation of our environment through greed and profit based on an income tax system.

— Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 5 May 2026
McGinnis’ lawyer said that was tantamount to spoliation — or destruction of evidence.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026

Definition of spoliation

Noun

Cabinet members reserve almost a fifth of the government’s vaccine stockpile for themselves, and the public reacts with mass looting and violent civil unrest.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026
Efforts to prevent looting had been made even before the formation of the MFAA.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 July 2026

Definition of looting

Noun

Article continues below Unfortunately, a passing asteroid deposits a killer alien robot in their midst, and the soldiers must fend for themselves as this marauding mech stalks them with guns and lasers blazing.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Mar. 2026
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

Definition of marauding

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

Noun

Homer may have viewed Odysseus’s deceit and pillaging as glorious.

— Luis Parrales, The Atlantic, 26 July 2026
Taking the Scenic Route Home After their successful sneak-attack pillaging of Troy, Odysseus’ comrade Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) and his men pack up and head back to Sparta.

— Whitney Friedlander, Vulture, 17 July 2026

Definition of pillaging

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

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predating

predation

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“Predation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predation. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of predation

noun

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