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
  • Efforts to prevent looting had been made even before the formation of the MFAA.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 July 2026
  • President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act after a generation of lobbying by educators and scientists who wanted to protect sites from commercial artifact looting and haphazard collecting by individuals.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 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
  • People in northwest Nigeria are caught between regular attacks by bandit groups who specialize in kidnapping for ransom and Islamist militants who have been expanding their territory.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
  • Helen is the queen of Sparta whose kidnapping by the Trojans ignited the Trojan War in the first place.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
Definition of kidnapping
Noun
  • The abduction of Nicolas Maduro, then the president of Venezuela, was daring, high-risk, and has slowly paid off, with Caracas becoming more US-friendly.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
  • But the government’s killings, torture, and abductions continued for years after the final whistle had blown.
    — Minky Worden, Forbes.com, 17 July 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 25 Jul. 2026.

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