SPOLIATING Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

spoliating

verb

present participle of spoliate

as in plundering

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoliating

Verb

In fact, plundering England’s lower leagues is a rich source of unique goals, from Ballard’s spectacular effort to this cheeky one from Crewe Alexandra striker Josh March in their 1-0 League Two win over Northampton on Saturday.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Nearly three decades later, Cornelius is still partying and plundering, though usually in a more relaxed fashion and with less of a Beach Boys influence.

— Reed Jackson, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of plundering

Verb

Shares slumped 16% for a third straight session of losses, wiping out $400 billion in market cap on Monday alone.

— Gail Krishnan, CNBC, 23 June 2026
The prospect of even a mini-Dust Bowl is alarming as the original disaster during the Great Depression sent dust clouds across rural America, wiping out entire communities and triggering mass migration to other parts of the country.

— Jason Ma, Fortune, 21 June 2026

Definition of wiping out

Verb

David Cassirer has argued the law clearly requires the museum to return the painting — and has pledged to support other looting victims with any proceeds.

— Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
At the height of the roughly two-and-a-half-hour melee that followed, as many as 1,500 people surged through Westwood Village, smashing windows, looting stores, and vandalizing cars.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of looting

Verb

Meanwhile, the bubble wrap will be coming off against a marauding Denver defense.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026
Supposedly posing a threat to their idyll on the outskirts are various marauding splinter groups running amok through the barren wasteland of the American Mountain West.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of marauding

Verb

The Raiders dominated the line of scrimmage, sacking Malik Willis five times and holding De'Von Achane — who rushed for 1,350 yards in 2025 — to 36 yards on 11 carries.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026
Minnesota pressured Love on 13 snaps in the second half, sacking him four times, and left the Packers out of sorts.

— Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026

Definition of sacking

Verb

Last month, when video of a runaway piglet tearing down Hayworth Avenue and through the alleys near Canter’s Deli hit social media, the internet went nuts.

— Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Demolition crews have begun tearing down the historic Grandview United Presbyterian Church in Mount Washington after weeks of delays.

— Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of tearing down

Verb

Sudan’s civil war, a conflict credibly described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, has seen violence matched only by the belligerents’ rapacity in pillaging the country’s riches.

— Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Sometimes the very entities owning these hospitals and nursing homes are purposely bankrupting them, pillaging them of their value to maximize the owners’ profits.

— Peter Ubel, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of pillaging

Verb

The local population took matters into their own hands, storming and ransacking a migrant camp.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026
But, rather than vandalizing the corporate website, or holding valuable data for ransom—actions typical of human hackers—the adversary began ransacking the company’s servers in search of an answer key for a list of test questions.

— Stephen Witt, New Yorker, 30 July 2026

Definition of ransacking

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.

Browse Nearby Words

spoliates

spoliating

spoliation

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Spoliating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoliating. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of spoliating

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

churlish

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes