despoil

verb

de·​spoil di-ˈspȯi(-ə)l 

despoiled; despoiling; despoils

transitive verb

: to strip of belongings, possessions, or value : pillage

despoiler noun

despoilment

di-ˈspȯi(-ə)l-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• loot
• maraud
• pillage
• plunder
• ransack
• sack

Choose the Right Synonym for despoil

ravage, devastate, waste, sack, pillage, despoil mean to lay waste by plundering or destroying.

ravage implies violent often cumulative depredation and destruction.

a hurricane ravaged the coast

devastate implies the complete ruin and desolation of a wide area.

an earthquake devastated the city

waste may imply producing the same result by a slow process rather than sudden and violent action.

years of drought had wasted the area

sack implies carrying off all valuable possessions from a place.

barbarians sacked ancient Rome

pillage implies ruthless plundering at will but without the completeness suggested by sack.

settlements pillaged by Vikings

despoil applies to looting or robbing without suggesting accompanying destruction.

the Nazis despoiled the art museums

Examples of despoil in a Sentence

The landscape has been despoiled by industrial development.

the burglars despoiled the art museum in search of treasures they thought they could sell to a fence

Recent Examples on the Web

The world is a stakeholder, not a bystander, and cannot remain silent as Brazil despoils this indispensable carbon sink, irreplaceable oxygen source, and precious repository of plant and animal life. —Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021

Meanwhile, human activity has imperiled biodiversity as people despoil lands and waters, introduce invasive species, and harvest natural resources unsustainably. —Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021

But that hasn’t dissuaded some people in the Middle East and North Africa from doing to rivers what others all over the globe have done to theirs: despoil and deplete them. —Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023

The monument, situated along the Arizona Strip, aims to protect the Grand Canyon from more uranium mining, which Native Americans said would despoil many sacred ancestral sites, leach into aquifers and threaten water supplies. —Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English despoylen, from Anglo-French despoiller, from Latin despoliare, from de- + spoliare to strip, rob — more at spoil entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

despoil

verb

de·​spoil di-ˈspȯil 

: to strip of belongings, possessions, or value : plunder, pillage

despoiler noun

despoilment

-ˈspȯi(ə)l-mənt 

noun