DEPREDATION Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

depredation

noun

Definition of depredation

as in extermination

formal a usually violent act in which something is damaged or destroyed or in which a person or animal is killed The town had somehow escaped the depredations of enemy soldiers.

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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 depredation This is among the many depredations that this supposedly mainstream Administration has committed. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026 That compares with 21 depredations by wolves so far this year, with about $25,000 paid to ranchers whose cattle were killed by wolves. — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 23 Sep. 2026 The agency rarely gets involved to lethally remove a wolf who has been involved in depredation events, though this year the agency has intervened a few times. — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Not until early in the next century did Congress take on the depredations of Gilded Age plutocrats. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026 Melissa Farris, 41, of Elizabethtown, was arrested on federal charges of depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans' memorials, according to previous reporting. — Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Aug. 2026 She was charged with depredation against federal property and destruction of veterans’ memorials. — Liam Scott, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2026 As the Shiite arc of alliance weakens from Iran to Lebanon due to the US/Israeli depredation of Tehran’s power, Sunni states look set to fill the vacuum. — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 No amount of macho beatdowns in the UFC cage matches on the White House lawn will make anyone forget Epstein’s depredations. — Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 18 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredation

Noun

For properties other than single-family homes and duplexes, the statute addresses reasonable provisions for clean and safe common areas along with services such as garbage removal and extermination of certain pests.

— Emma Clapp, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
California’s system of water law dates back to the Gold Rush, when the state government promoted the extermination of Native people to make way for white settlers.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of extermination

Noun

The end of saving money and raising middle-class wages justifies the means, namely, the destruction of immigrant families.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
The destruction releases vast stores of carbon, adding to climate change that is already contributing to drought and forest fires across the tropics.

— Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of destruction

Noun

Every researcher who quits Anthropic to write a viral letter about extinction is casting himself, in the drama running in his own head, as Oppenheimer walking away from the bomb.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
In a world where AI and algorithms are trumpeting our extinction on a daily basis, Wildwood kicks the conversation in entirely the other direction.

— Bridget Arsenault, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of extinction

Noun

One of the leading explanations for its origin goes back to an older meaning of the word ‘bucket’ — a beam or yoke from which animals could be suspended during slaughter.

— Jim Dudlicek, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
Now, as then, the dehumanization of Arab and Muslim lives is embedded in the very language used to describe their slaughter.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of slaughter

Noun

Authorities said Willeford, who lived near the church, grabbed his own gun and shot and chased the gunman, helping to stop the massacre.

— Holly Yan, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
In the coming years, the massacre generation is on track to become part of the largest voting bloc in the country.

— Jillian Turanovic, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of massacre

Noun

The devastation spread on a sunny, calm weekend without warning.

— Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
Most of the new songs wrestle with how to seek pleasure while remaining hyperaware of the devastations of the world, and how that tension can make happiness itself feel like a vice.

— Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of devastation

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depredating

depredation

depredations

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“Depredation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredation. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of depredation

noun

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