rapine

noun

Definition of rapinenext
as in pillage

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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 rapine If his decades-long track record is any indication, Sanders would be inclined to make excuses for our adversaries and look on the bright side of their repression and rapine. — Rich Lowry, National Review, 25 Feb. 2020 There is no question about the general philosophy that underlay this great act of public pillage and economic rapine. — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 13 Mar. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapine
  1. pillage
  2. looting
  3. plundering
  4. despoliation
  5. spoliation
  6. kidnapping
  7. abduction
Noun
  • The people who've made it out are telling us horror stories of mass killings, of rape and pillage of women and families.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Vikings, for example, used the extra daylight to sneak in a longer pillage sesh.
    — Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 19 June 2025
Definition of pillage
Noun
  • The interior ministry says acid has been hurled in some cases, and that people intent on destruction and looting have grafted themselves onto the high schoolers’ movement.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The looting targeted the TPLF administration office, the regional police headquarters and some shops, Filmon said Sunday.
    — Rodney Muhumuza, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of looting
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
  • On social media, Tan was pugilistic to the point of belligerence, casting his political enemies as corrupt malefactors responsible for the despoliation of his beloved city.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
  • In the face of such extensive despoliation, grassroots opposition has emerged.
    — Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Definition of despoliation
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
  • The next year Williams was charged in the Southern District of Iowa for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in the kidnapping case.
    — Breaking News, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Lavery pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, kidnapping and concealment of a body in 2022 and is serving up to 32 years in prison.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of kidnapping
Noun
  • Williams had allegedly conspired with three other individuals to fake his own abduction alongside hers, according to local reports of the incident.
    — Breaking News, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Sullivan cautioned that trafficking often looks very different from the abductions portrayed in movies.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of abduction

Browse Nearby Words

rapiers
rapine
rapines
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Cite this Entry

“Rapine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapine. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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