ransacked

verb

past tense of ransack
1
as in plundered
to search through with the intent of committing robbery it was clear that the thieves who had ransacked the museum were professionals—they bypassed most of the exhibits and went straight for the vaults

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in searched
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something I've ransacked the whole house for that book you lent me and it's nowhere to be found

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 ransacked An AutoZone in East Los Angeles was ransacked twice over the weekend. — Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026 People close to Machado were tortured and questioned about her whereabouts, and state agents ransacked El Bejucal, searching for clues. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 Royal forces ransacked every ship that arrived at Alexandria, searching for scrolls. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 Some people climbed a lifeguard tower, while others ran through traffic and ransacked stalls where artisans sold their goods, police said at the time. — Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 7 July 2026 After the Battle of the Alamo, the Mexican army ransacked the site and salvaged all the leftover artillery for future military use, ridding the battleground of most of its weaponry. — Amen Galinato, CNN Money, 25 June 2026 Officer Sean Lally told the court on Monday that the woman's room appeared ransacked and alleged that Jankauskas had broken a mirror and a bed. — Adam England, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026 On April 18, Fort Lauderdale officers were called to an Airbnb in the 1600 block of Northwest 16th Court after a group of women who had rented the home returned to find it in disarray, furniture flipped over, their belongings ransacked a man inside. — Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 30 May 2026 Entire ancient cities had been ransacked to the benefit of wealthy collectors and expansion-minded museum curators, who had profited from those works while the nation that had produced them starved. — Matthew Campbell, Bloomberg, 22 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ransacked
  1. plundered
  2. searched
  3. looted
  4. found
  5. pillaged
  6. raided
  7. sacked
  8. despoiled
Verb
  • As long as the contents of a container have not been plundered outright, they can even be delivered to the recipient after an accident, albeit with some delay.
    — Alexander Klose, Scientific American, 24 July 2026
  • The Stuttgart striker plundered two second-half goals, including a stoppage-time winner, to earn his side a place in the last 32.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 20 June 2026
Definition of plundered
Verb
  • On July 12, dive team members with California State Parks searched Doane Pond but did not find her.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Departments can choose what types of cases can be searched for by other departments.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of searched
Verb
  • Los Angeles County deputies say that an AutoZone in East Los Angeles was found looted early Saturday morning, near the spot where a street takeover had taken place.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • In addition to missile targeting, Russia has also looted thousands of Ukrainian cultural objects since the beginning of the war.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of looted
Verb
  • Wondermind, which was co-founded by Gomez; her mother, Mandy Teefey; and Daniella Pierson in November 2021, touts mental fitness practices and tools.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 14 Aug. 2026
  • And now there are full-size mowers that can take on acres of grass, as a result of the technology being developed by companies like Kress, an electric motor company founded in the late 1920s.
    — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of found
Verb
  • But Nolan also throws a meditative new wrinkle into the story, as Odysseus comes to grips with his role in the Trojan War, leading the charge as his men raped, murdered and pillaged in his name.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 July 2026
  • For decades, tomb raiders have pillaged sites across the country, selling them on the black market.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 19 June 2026
Definition of pillaged
Verb
  • Members of the Montreal City Police Department found the weapon, a Glock 26, on August 30, 2024, when officers raided a home in relation to a kidnapping investigation, court records show.
    — Mark Morales, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
  • This has been an issue discussed by many across the ACC and Big 12 in previous weeks, wondering aloud what this would prevent in terms of being raided by the others, most notably the SEC.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of raided
Verb
  • One thing Taylor won't like is that Burrow was sacked once and then hit while throwing on third-and-4 from the Lions 38 during the second series.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Norwich just missed out on that position, coming ninth, but head coach Liam Manning was nowhere to be seen by then, having been sacked in November with his team second-bottom of the table.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of sacked
Verb
  • One looks to the story of the Haitian World Cup team, appearing in the tournament for the first time in fifty years, which has gathered expatriate players from the Haitian diaspora to play for that beautiful and utterly despoiled country, where many of them have never lived.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of despoiled

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Cite this Entry

“Ransacked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ransacked. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ransacked for Spanish Speakers

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