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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredation
Noun
-
The April 4 announcement of the security zone expansion and the destruction of Umm al-Nasser demonstrates the IDF's continued military operations in Gaza and is an example of how quickly the conditions in Gaza have deteriorated since the ceasefire.—
Kerem Inal,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2025 -
Here are the main players joining Joel and Ellie in fortified Jackson, Wyoming, five years after the Firefly destruction: Isabela Merced stars as Dina Who's Dina?—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
As the Earth's climate cooled and the oceans' ecosystems changed, Megalodon may have struggled to find sufficient food, leading to its extinction.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin had an emotional meeting with a pair of dire wolves, but many fans have shared the same unimpressed response, not quite able to believe a species was brought back from extinction before Martin finished the next book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Namely: Who bears responsibility for the slaughter of the season?—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
-
That concept of freedom might be better exemplified by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, another Third World death cult that promised liberation and promoted slaughter — and that came with its own prominent apologists on American college campuses.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In 2007, the British journalist David Litchfield wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that guests at a ball at Schloss Rechnitz were invited to shoot Jews for sport—a claim disputed by historians, who do not dispute that the massacre took place.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Trump got a temporary reprieve when the markets closed Friday at 4 p.m., but expect the massacre to resume this morning at 9:30 when the opening bell rings at the New York Stock Exchange.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Depredation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredation. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share