ravish

verb

rav·​ish ˈra-vish 

ravished; ravishing; ravishes

transitive verb

1

a

: to seize and take away by violence

b

: to overcome with emotion (such as joy or delight)

ravished by the scenic beauty

c

: rape entry 1 sense 1

2

: plunder, rob

ravisher noun

ravishment

ˈra-vish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• assault
• force
• rape
• violate

Examples of ravish in a Sentence

invaders guilty of murdering and ravishing villagers

travelers have long been ravished with wonder and awe by the immensity of the Great Pyramid at Giza

Recent Examples on the Web

This artful, ravishing game makes clear the pain and difficulty in casting aside the doctrine of the Church — the trials and tribulations in seeing beyond such an all-encompassing, reality-defining status quo. —Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024

Trending on Billboard While many benefits take several weeks, if not months, to plan, Concert for Carolina was held less than a month after the worst natural disaster to ever hit North Carolina ravished mountain towns, including Asheville and Boone, and left close to 100 people dead. —Melinda Newman, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2024

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was ravishing in red while walking in L’Oréal Paris’s Paris Fashion Week runway on Monday. —Violet Goldstone, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019

The fresh, vegetable-forward menu changes daily, but many of the ravishing desserts tend to stay, including a signature spiced rum chocolate cake. —Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ravisshen "to seize forcefully, plunder, carry away, carry off (a woman) in order to sexually assault her, seize as prey, carry up (into heaven), enrapture, sweep along," borrowed from Anglo-French raviss-, stem of ravir (also continental Old & Middle French), going back to Vulgar Latin *rapīre, re-formation of Latin rapere "to seize and carry off, take away by force, carry off a woman with the intent of sexually assaulting her, carry or sweep along, impel forcibly (to a course of conduct), snatch up, gather quickly" — more at rapid entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

ravish

verb

rav·​ish ˈrav-ish 

1

: to seize and take away by violence

2

: rape sense 2

3

: to overcome with a feeling and especially a feeling of joy or delight

ravisher noun

Legal Definition

ravish

transitive verb

rav·​ish ˈra-vish 

: rape

ravishment noun

Etymology

Middle English, to seize and take away by violence, from Middle French raviss-, stem of ravir, ultimately from Latin rapere to seize, rob