ravage

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/ See IPA manual

Freq #35791

Meanings

1

verb
To cause great damage to something; to destroy.

The forest was ravaged by the wildfire.
2

noun
Serious damage or destruction (often used in the plural).

The old building showed the ravages of time.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to cause great damage to... devastate destroy

2 noun · serious damage or... depredation

Word family

Forms ravagedravagesravaging

Derived forms ravageableravagementunravaged

Related forms rapid

Etymology

From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”).

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# ravage

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/
**Frequency rank:** 35791

## Meanings
1. To cause great damage to something; to destroy.
2. Serious damage or destruction (often used in the plural).

## Examples
- The forest was ravaged by the wildfire.
- The old building showed the ravages of time.

## Derived Forms
- ravageable
- ravagement
- unravaged

## Related Forms
- rapid

## Etymology
From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”).

## AI Etymology
Ravage comes from French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”). Modern senses include to cause great damage to something; to destroy. and serious damage or destruction (often used in the plural).. The wider word family includes derivatives such as ravageable, ravagement, and unravaged and related forms such as rapid.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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