as in destroys
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action
the hurricane ravaged the state and caused billions of dollars worth of damage
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Recent Examples of ravages
February 23, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
The tall green trees pop against the clear blue sky, until a wildfire ravages the forest and changes Grainger’s life.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
Published in 1842, Poe’s story follows Prince Prospero, who retreats with a group of nobles into a fortified abbey as a deadly plague ravages the countryside.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
This horror ravages Africa far beyond Nigeria.
—Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
As extreme heat ravages New York City this summer, the lives of thousands detained on Rikers Island hang in the balance.
—Darren MacK, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Verb
As of early Monday morning, nearly 150 flights at MIA had been impacted, and that's expected to increase as the winter storm ravages the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
—February 23, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
The tall green trees pop against the clear blue sky, until a wildfire ravages the forest and changes Grainger’s life.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
Published in 1842, Poe’s story follows Prince Prospero, who retreats with a group of nobles into a fortified abbey as a deadly plague ravages the countryside.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
This horror ravages Africa far beyond Nigeria.
—Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
As extreme heat ravages New York City this summer, the lives of thousands detained on Rikers Island hang in the balance.
—Darren MacK, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ravages
Verb
-
Unfortunately, as with alcohol, gambling also destroys lives.—
Jim Nowlan,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Israel routinely destroys equipment meant for reconstruction; Human Rights Watch found that Israel had destroyed more than 360 heavy machines — bulldozers, excavators, and factories producing asphalt and cement — in four different attacks in south Lebanon.—
Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
After Christian forces retook Arcos, the mosque was demolished, and a church was built on its ruins.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Mar. 2026
-
In the early days of the Syrian uprising, Daham Alasaad was working as a tour guide in his native Palmyra, leading a group through the ruins of the ancient city.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Kyiv residents endure long daily blackouts as Russia devastates the power system, leaving tower block dwellers freezing in apartments with no heat or light.—
Derek Gatopoulos,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Exacerbating the problem, unpredictable rainfall cycling between drought and floods further devastates the region.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These attempts to keep down the unquiet dead were, besides being desecrations, exercises in a lot of heavy and often forbidden labor done on decaying bodies.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The idea that Watkins was an enabler of Gein’s murders and subsequent desecrations could be read merely as a part of the show’s aggressive and admitted mingling of fiction and reality.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ravages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ravages. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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