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
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Over time, toxins accumulate, and the genetic disorder ravages children’s organs, including their heart — and in many cases, their brain, leading to dementia-like symptoms.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026
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
Verb
Greenhouses provide protection from scourges like tomato blight, which ravages otherwise beautiful crops in areas with cool, rainy weather.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Over time, toxins accumulate, and the genetic disorder ravages children’s organs, including their heart — and in many cases, their brain, leading to dementia-like symptoms.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026
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
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For those who know the play well, some of Mantello’s choices are most striking, especially the horror here of the famous hotel-room scene with a tawdry lover (brutally played by Katherine Romans), an act born of loneliness that destroys a father’s relationship with his son forever.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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While in Annaba, Leo will visit the archaeological ruins of the ancient Roman city of Hippo, including its theater, market and thermal baths.—
Nicole Winfield,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
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Leo prayed under a tent looking out over the ruins of the ancient Roman city, including its theater, market and basilica where Augustine preached and the adjoining baptistry.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Florida’s citrus industry has been in a steady decline the past 25 years because of Huanglongbing (also known as HLB and citrus greening disease), a bacterial disease that devastates citrus trees.—
Jim Turner,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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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
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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 21 Apr. 2026.
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