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
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
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
-
And God does and kills everybody and destroys everything.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
-
His stance joins a bipartisan chorus, including GOP leaders and Governor Shapiro, warning that inciting violence against Jewish neighbors destroys the path toward peace.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Grand, crumbling ruins stand as a striking reminder that Oualidia was once a favorite place of the nation’s last Sultan, and the legacy of his beloved royal beach lingers.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Erksan was good with locations and makes fine use of the landscape here, which is appropriately dominated by the ruins of a fortress.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 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 20 Feb. 2026.
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