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, 20 Jan. 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, 20 Jan. 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
-
An excuse or explanation by itself, even while being transparent, destroys trust.—
Shep Hyken,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Beyond the immediate loss of land, erosion frequently exposes or destroys historic and archaeological sites.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Homes and infrastructure lie in ruins.—
Sarah Ferguson,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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The ruins of one of what was once the northernmost bishopric sat nearby.—
Tim Neville,
Outside,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Michael Winner’s gritty urban thriller starred Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, an everyman architect who becomes a vigilante after a brutal assault devastates his family.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
13 Nov. 2025
-
Americans are used to thinking about automation as something that devastates factory towns in the heartland.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
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 31 Jan. 2026.
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