ravage means grievous damage or havoc. It carries an Arena rating of 1845, earned across 27 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ravage ranks #501 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #699 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #898 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,491 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
ravage is pronounced /ˈɹævɪd͡ʒ/.
Why “ravage” is a great word
To cause severe and extensive damage, to devastate or lay waste. From French ravage (“havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to seize, carry away”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”). First recorded in English use 1605–15. Unlike “pillage,” which emphasizes the looting of spoils, or “damage,” which suggests harm that might be mended, “ravage” speaks to the stark, enduring ruin that remains. It is the sun-scorched field after the locusts, the hollowed-out silence of a town after fire, the deep lines of grief etched permanently on a face—the violence not of the taking but of the hollowed shape left behind.
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”).
noun
- Grievous damage or havoc.e.g.“Would one think 'twere possible for love / To make such ravage in a noble soul!” — 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 35:
- Depredation or devastation.e.g.“the ravages of fire or tempest”
verb
- To devastate, destroy or lay waste to something.
- To pillage or plunder destructively; to sack.
- To wreak destruction.
- To have vigorous sexual intercourse with.
- To rape.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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