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
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Recent Examples of ransacked
Homes of political party members and state buildings were ransacked or set ablaze, shaking investor confidence in the Southeast Asian economy and triggering a steep selloff on its stocks and currency markets on Friday.
—
CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
More than a thousand fires burned, and more than a thousand shops were ransacked.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
Pitt's home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles was ransacked by burglars in June when, police said, three suspects broke into his through a front window after jumping over a fence to gain entry to the yard.
—Alex Stone, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2025
The demonstrations, some of the largest in American history, recalled the long hot summer of 1967, when protesters whose lives had only been meagerly improved by recent civil-rights legislation ransacked storefronts in Newark and Detroit.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
Others ransacked the presidential palace and residence with Assad and other top officials gone.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
The Iranian Embassy in Damascus was ransacked after apparently having been abandoned.
—Abdulrahman Shaheen and Abby Sewell, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Dec. 2024
Thousands of people assembled at the foot of the main square in Damascus, where rebels ransacked Assad’s residence.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
Last year, one of its stores in Hull, a port city on the northeast coast, was ransacked amid far-right, anti-immigrant protests.
—Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
More than a thousand fires burned, and more than a thousand shops were ransacked.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
Pitt's home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles was ransacked by burglars in June when, police said, three suspects broke into his through a front window after jumping over a fence to gain entry to the yard.
—Alex Stone, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2025
The demonstrations, some of the largest in American history, recalled the long hot summer of 1967, when protesters whose lives had only been meagerly improved by recent civil-rights legislation ransacked storefronts in Newark and Detroit.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
Others ransacked the presidential palace and residence with Assad and other top officials gone.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
The Iranian Embassy in Damascus was ransacked after apparently having been abandoned.
—Abdulrahman Shaheen and Abby Sewell, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Dec. 2024
Thousands of people assembled at the foot of the main square in Damascus, where rebels ransacked Assad’s residence.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
Last year, one of its stores in Hull, a port city on the northeast coast, was ransacked amid far-right, anti-immigrant protests.
—Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ransacked
Verb
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The towns of Harrisonville, Butler and Osceola were plundered during Bleeding Kansas.—
Quentin Corpuel,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
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These will hold a particular interest for the Bloomsbury enthusiast because the majority of them are previously unpublished (an impressive feat, given how often the various archives have been plundered by other biographers).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Every bag and piece of equipment that comes through security on Sunday will be scanned and thoroughly searched.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Six officers searched their residence, and the couple were detained for eight hours over a spat with Cowley Hill Primary School.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Argentine prosecutors have charged the daughter of a fugitive Nazi officer with attempting to hide an 18th-century Italian painting that was looted during World War II and had not been seen publicly in 80 years.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Across the Southeast Asian archipelago, demonstrators have torched government buildings, riot police have hurled tear gas and fired water cannons at protesters in city streets, and some people have looted politicians’ houses and burned vehicles.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ekstrom had founded and sold her 7-figure social impact company, Headbands of Hope.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The company was founded by a Xavier University graduate, Peter Klekamp, in 2001 as a real estate management firm focused on multifamily and industrial properties.—
Randy Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
Verb
-
Sovereign was raided by the FBI in 2017.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
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Altunar and 30 others were arrested in June in Kings Mountain when about 100 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided a fire equipment plant.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Top pick Cam Ward was sacked six times in his NFL debut and threw for just 112 yards on 12 completions while Tennessee managed just four field goals.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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He then was sacked when right tackle Khalil House was beaten cleanly by an edge rusher and lost a fumble at the Stanford 5.—
Harold Gutmann,
Mercury News,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ransacked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ransacked. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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