despoiling 1 of 2

despoiling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of despoil
as in pillaging
to search through with the intent of committing robbery the burglars despoiled the art museum in search of treasures they thought they could sell to a fence

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for despoiling
Noun
  • These are curated from the titles that were most frequently picked up in the Criterion Closet, that magical room full of the company’s releases that visiting filmmakers and luminaries are invited to peruse and pillage.
    Vulture Staff, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2024
  • At only 6 years old, Esai Reed has endured three emergency evacuations from orphanages across Haiti as gangs pillage and plunder their way through once peaceful communities.
    Dánica Coto, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 2024
Noun
  • Swiss zoologists, botanists, engineers, priests and nuns from missionary societies, merchants and rentier businesspeople, warlords and mercenaries ventured out to participate in plunder and looting as adjuncts or sidekicks of the stronger world powers and financiers.
    Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Major museums in the West devoted to the presentation and preservation of art objects have fitfully begun acknowledging their ties to histories of violence and plunder.
    Leslie Camhi, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Rebels have continuously celebrated their victory by robbing the Syrian Central Bank, sacking the Syrian presidential palace, and firing guns into the air.
    Ross O'Keefe, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Dec. 2024
  • Rebels have continuously celebrated their victory by robbing the Syrian Central Bank, sacking the Syrian presidential palace, and firing guns into the air.
    Ross O'Keefe, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • That amounts to spoliation, the defense claims, and should result in the dismissal of the charges against Trump.
    Perry Stein, Washington Post, 30 June 2024
  • The West should also prepare for a Russia that inflicts even greater spoliation on a global scale—but not drive it to do so.
    Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
Noun
  • But the honeyguide bird is an exception that actually calls to the badgers, despite the potential danger of predation.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Plus, in areas with higher predator populations, shooting does earlier can increase fawn predation.
    Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 18 Sep. 2024
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near despoiling

Cite this Entry

“Despoiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despoiling. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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