ravage

ravage
ravagement, n.ravager, n.
/rav"ij/, v., ravaged, ravaging, n.
v.t.
1. to work havoc upon; damage or mar by ravages: a face ravaged by grief.
v.i.
2. to work havoc; do ruinous damage.
n.
3. havoc; ruinous damage: the ravages of war.
4. devastating or destructive action.
[1605-15; < F, MF, equiv. to rav(ir) to RAVISH + -age -AGE]
Syn. 1. ruin, despoil, plunder, pillage, sack. RAVAGE, DEVASTATE, LAY WASTE all refer, in their literal application, to the wholesale destruction of a countryside by an invading army (or something comparable). LAY WASTE has remained the closest to the original meaning of destruction of land: The invading army laid waste the towns along the coast. But RAVAGE and DEVASTATE are used in reference to other types of violent destruction and may also have a purely figurative application.
RAVAGE is often used of the results of epidemics: The Black Plague ravaged 14th-century Europe; and even of the effect of disease or suffering on the human countenance: a face ravaged by despair. DEVASTATE, in addition to its concrete meaning (vast areas devastated by bombs), may be used figuratively: a devastating remark. 4. ruin, waste, desolation.
Ant. 1. build, repair. 4. creation.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • ravage — [ ravaʒ ] n. m. • 1355; de ravir (1o) 1 ♦ Vx Action de ravager; dommage, dégât important causé par des hommes avec violence et soudaineté. ⇒ dévastation, pillage. Le ravage d une région par des pillards. ⇒ 2. sac. « Il fallait que les ravages des …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • ravagé — ravage [ ravaʒ ] n. m. • 1355; de ravir (1o) 1 ♦ Vx Action de ravager; dommage, dégât important causé par des hommes avec violence et soudaineté. ⇒ dévastation, pillage. Le ravage d une région par des pillards. ⇒ 2. sac. « Il fallait que les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ravage — means to devastate or destroy something, wreaking destruction, ransacking.It may also refer to one of the following: *Ravage 2099, a fictional superhero, set in the far future, from Marvel Comics *Ravage (Marvel Comics), a fictional villain at… …   Wikipedia

  • Ravage — Rav age (r[a^]v [asl]j; 48), n. [F., fr. (assumed) L. rapagium, rapaticum, fr. rapere to carry off by force, to ravish. See {Rapacious}, {Ravish}.] Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction; devastation; havoc; waste; as, the ravage of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ravage — [rav′ij] n. [Fr < OFr ravir: see RAVISH] 1. the act or practice of violently destroying; destruction 2. [usually pl.] ruin; devastating damage [the ravages of time] vt. ravaged, ravaging [Fr ravager < RAVAGE the n.] …   English World dictionary

  • Ravage — Rav age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ravaged} (r[a^]v [asl]jd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Ravaging} (r[a^]v [asl]*j[i^]ng).] [F. ravager. See {Ravage}, n.] To lay waste by force; to desolate by violence; to commit havoc or devastation upon; to spoil; to plunder; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ravage — (v.) 1610s, from Fr. ravager lay waste, devastate, from O.Fr. ravage destruction, especially by flood, 14c., from ravir to take away hastily (see RAVISH (Cf. ravish)). Related: Ravaged; ravaging …   Etymology dictionary

  • ravage — ravage, devastate, waste, sack, pillage, despoil, spoliate are comparable when they mean to lay waste or bare by acts of violence (as plundering or destroying). Ravage implies violent, severe, and often cumulative destruction accomplished… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • ravage — Ravage. s. m. Ruine, degast qui se fait avec violence & avec rapidité. Les pluyes, les vents, les glaces ont fait de grands ravages. les troupes ennemies font d horribles ravages, font ravage en ce pays là. les sangliers, les bestes font des… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Ravage — (franz., spr. wāsch ), Verheerung …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ravage — (frz., spr. wahsch ), Verheerung …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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