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
The ravaging of the museum reflects the destruction seen across Khartoum. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 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
For weeks an autoimmune disease doctors couldn’t explain had been attacking his thyroid and ravaging his intestines. — Joe Manganiello, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026 Across the country, climate change is ravaging ecosystems, bringing more robust storms, rising sea levels, record-setting conflagrations and fatal heat waves. — Jennifer Oldham, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026 My dad believed this outpatient clinic — which cost nearly $10,000 a week — could save him from the Stage 4 lung cancer ravaging his body. — Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 The Grand Canyon has seen ravaging floods in the past week, sparking search and rescue missions and damaging nearly 40% of its sole water pipeline. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026 The resumption of classes comes in the middle of a ravaging disease outbreak that is spreading rapidly. — ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026 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
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
  • Hurricane Isaias made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Saturday, spawning tornadoes, destroying buildings and downing power lines across the Gulf region.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Israeli soldiers filmed themselves in high definition laughing, looting homes, destroying entire rows of buildings, humiliating civilians, even killing them.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 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
  • Overall, climate change is weakening the winds — but won’t save SoCal from devastating fires.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The region has already been saturated by heavy rain over the past months, and regions like New Mexico and Grand Canyon were hit by devastating floods earlier this month.
    — Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of devastating
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
  • 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
  • The gang steals sacred objects, but their movements around them can resemble ceremony not desecration.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026
  • These are two examples of politicians' truths among a plethora of others that are really lies, distortions, deceptions and desecrations of the citizens' trust in them.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 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 20 Oct. 2026.

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