spoliation

Definition of spoliationnext

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of spoliation The spoliation inference becomes a presumption of guilt that's incredibly challenging to overcome. Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025 Last Friday, Damien Marshall and other King & Spalding attorneys on behalf of MSG filed a memorandum of law in opposition to Oakley’s motion for what are known as spoliation sanctions, meaning a punishment for failure to preserve relevant evidence. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 May 2025 An attorney who allows a client to continue using their phone risks spoliation as normal usage can overwrite or erase crucial data. Lars Daniel, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025 That amounts to spoliation, the defense claims, and should result in the dismissal of the charges against Trump. Perry Stein, Washington Post, 30 June 2024 The West should also prepare for a Russia that inflicts even greater spoliation on a global scale—but not drive it to do so. Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024 Epic filed a motion to sanction Google for alleged spoliation of evidence in October. Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoliation
Noun
  • No autopsy or testing will be done, and there were no signs of predation or injury, according to the Nature Center's announcement on Facebook.
    Mikayla Price, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Symptoms include fearlessness and loss of coordination, behaviors inviting lion predation, and thereby removal of disease vectors.
    Ted Williams, Denver Post, 24 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.
    Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.
    Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • An intimate doc-feature take on renowned Panamanian anthropologist Reina Torres de Araúz (1932-82), who battled the plundering of artifacts from pre-1492 tombs, told from th POV of a soon who lost her mother too soon.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 9 Mar. 2026
  • ByteDance’s statement follows the Chinese tech giant receiving cease and desist letters from Disney and Paramount, calling for an immediate halt to IP plundering.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Saleh Abu Alamah A statue of the Nubian god Apademak stands alone in the courtyard of Sudan’s National Museum, one of the few survivors of systematic looting amid a conflict that has developed into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
    Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 8 Mar. 2026
  • There is no widespread panic or looting.
    Pegah Banihashemi, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The people who've made it out are telling us horror stories of mass killings, of rape and pillage of women and families.
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Vikings, for example, used the extra daylight to sneak in a longer pillage sesh.
    Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.
    Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
  • The Venezuelan regime is broadly unpopular in Latin America; its socialism of plunder has sent millions of desperate people into Colombia and other states.
    David Frum, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Amid the pillaging of homes, Roman magistrates were likely sent to the city to prevent an anarchic type of existence, based on ancient literary sources the authors referenced in the study.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Rutter, the club’s record £40m buy from Leeds United, was an instant hit last season with insatiable work rate and marauding runs until an ankle injury ruled him out from March for the rest of the campaign.
    Andy Naylor, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Spoliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoliation. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

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