despoil

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dɪˈspɔɪl/ UK /dɪˈspɔɪl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to plunder or strip of possessions, valuables, or beauty by force

Invading armies despoiled the temples of their golden ornaments.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to plunder or strip of... plunder pillage ravage loot ransack strip sack

Opposites

enrich restore bestow

Word family

Forms despoiled

Derived forms despoilerdespoilmentdespoliation

Related forms spoilspoliationspoils

Etymology

From Old French despoillier, from Latin despoliare ('to plunder, rob'), from de- (intensive) + spoliare ('to strip, rob'), from spolium ('booty, hide stripped from an animal').

despoliare Latin spolium Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# despoil

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈspɔɪl/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈspɔɪl/

## Meanings
1. to plunder or strip of possessions, valuables, or beauty by force

## Examples
- Invading armies despoiled the temples of their golden ornaments.

## Synonyms
- plunder
- pillage
- ravage
- loot
- ransack
- strip
- sack

## Antonyms
- enrich
- restore
- bestow

## Derived Forms
- despoiler
- despoilment
- despoliation

## Related Forms
- spoil
- spoliation
- spoils

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: despoliare
- Root: spolium

## Etymology
From Old French despoillier, from Latin despoliare ('to plunder, rob'), from de- (intensive) + spoliare ('to strip, rob'), from spolium ('booty, hide stripped from an animal').

## AI Etymology
Despoil is from Old French despoillier, from Latin despoliare ('to plunder, rob'), from de- (intensive) + spoliare ('to strip, rob'), from spolium ('booty, hide stripped from an animal'). Important recorded forms include despoliare (Latin) and spolium (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to plunder or strip of possessions, valuables, or beauty by force. The wider family includes derived forms such as despoiler, despoilment, and despoliation and related words such as spoil, spoliation, and spoils.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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