rapine

noun

Definition of rapinenext
as in pillage

Related Words

Relevance

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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • The Malheur standoff also drew in the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, which Northern California sheriffs credited for talking down the Henrichsens and ending last month’s kidnapping without bloodshed.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of kidnapping
Noun
  • Zahavy dissected the process that went into Albert Einstein’s formulation of his General Relativity Theory, noting that the scientist’s thinking evolved through three phases – deduction, induction, and finally, abduction.
    — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Two months after the abduction, the body of 20-month-old Charles was found; he had probably been killed during the kidnapping.
    — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of abduction

Browse Nearby Words

rapiers
rapine
rapines
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All