ravaging 1 of 2

noun

as in ravage

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ravaging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of ravage
as in destroying
to bring destruction to (something) through violent action the hurricane ravaged the state and caused billions of dollars worth of damage

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 ravaging
Noun
This season’s ravaging reached further, for guards and wings and virtually anyone of relevance. — Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 31 May 2026 It should also never be forgotten that the five who approved this ravaging of the city’s beach are the exact same five who voted to give themselves enormous pay raises and more lavish health care benefits last July — another stealth move with scant notice to the taxpaying public. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 May 2026 But Haynes reminds her church flock to respond with love to the ravaging of their inclusive gesture. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025 The question of whether or not Uniqlo is fast fashion or sustainable fashion or ethical fashion has perhaps become irrelevant in a world in which fashion—no modifier needed—is increasingly culpable for the ravaging of the planet. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025 Though humans are responsible for the ravaging of the coral reefs, to exist in a place like Dominica is to be a part of an ongoing cycle of destruction and regeneration. — Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
Majur Traytowu is struggling to hold on to influence and authority amid a devastating alcohol epidemic ravaging her territory — and her own life. — Dan Agostini, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026 The boy was infected with an ultra-rare amoeba known for ravaging the brain. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026 Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images Firefighters stand by their vehicle as the battle a forest fire in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, some 30km from Bordeaux, on July 26, 2026 as a wildfire has been ravaging the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde). — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 27 July 2026 France’s interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the wildfire ravaging large swaths of southwestern France was heading toward the city of Bordeaux. — Caroline Blumberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026 As part of these clashes, Israel twice launched significant air strikes on Iran—the second time ravaging Iran’s air defenses. — David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 The smoke from the wildfires that are currently ravaging Canada has made its way south of the border to many American cities, affecting the air quality and causing health problems for citizens in the process. — Austin Perry, FOXNews.com, 17 July 2026 Bigger fires have been ravaging areas of southern France, but the Fontainebleau fire is exceptionally close to the densely populated region surrounding the French capital. — ABC News, 14 July 2026 Over the past two seasons, UCLA has remarkably maintained the majority of its talent despite the transfer portal ravaging so many teams. — Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 9 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ravaging
  1. ravage
  2. destroying
  3. wrecking
  4. devastating
  5. destruction
  6. demolishing
  7. desecration
  8. ruination
Noun
  • Temperatures are rising and normally rainy Salzburg now worries about water shortage and the environmental ravage of over-tourism.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of ravage
Verb
  • Pumping at high speeds creates a suction vortex (upconing) that violently draws heavy sludge into the production stream, fouling piping and destroying surface pumps.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The tornado wreaked havoc in the village of 1,000 inhabitants, reducing homes to rubble and destroying numerous cars.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroying
Noun
  • At least, there was a lot less wrecking.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2026
  • The Ravens haven’t really had that game-wrecking pass rusher since Terrell Suggs was in his prime.
    — The Athletic NFL Staff, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Definition of wrecking
Verb
  • Over 150 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after devastating flash floods swept through the Himalayan region along the Nepal-Tibet border, officials from both countries confirmed Wednesday.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
  • And that roads budget included the funding to take care of the existing roads, which would have been devastating ecologically and socially, because if these roads keep falling off the hillsides, then people can’t use them.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastating
Noun
  • The deadly wall of water that descended from the mountains on the border between Nepal and Tibet caused destruction at least 62 miles downriver from the border in Nepal, an ABC News analysis of verified video and satellite images shows.
    — Jon Haworth, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Trump has also promoted the destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities and navy, and the reduction in missile and drone capabilities, as measures of success.
    — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of destruction
Noun
  • In the filing, Omni Hotels outlined a five-year timeframe that would get the site fully designed, permitted and prepared for construction, noting construction would not start until at least five years after the demolishing of the buildings on site.
    — Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of demolishing
Noun
  • When Debbie, Susan, and Thom come over for a double-date pizza night, only Bret is concerned about the spate of recent home invasions, the missing pets, and the desecration of the griffin mascot.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026
  • He was convicted of offenses including desecration of national symbols, contempt and public ​disorder, and spent five years in the Guanajay prison near Havana.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 19 July 2026
Definition of desecration
Noun
  • No other city in the country would blow off the ruination of a community.
    — Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 25 July 2026
  • Some of these are arranged into more staid compositions of geometric bands of color, while others bend and bulge into shapes evoking the baroque ruination of junk-yard findings.
    — Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
Definition of ruination

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Cite this Entry

“Ravaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ravaging. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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