as in to plunder
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of despoil
In stark contrast to the sensible environmental policies of his Republican predecessors, Watt’s policy enthusiasms included drilling, clear-cutting, despoiling public lands, and shredding environmental regulations.
—
Liza Featherstone, The New Republic, 16 June 2023
This urge to despoil images of the unpopular goes a long way toward explaining why so many statues of Nero lost their heads, said Eric R. Varner, professor of classics and art history at Emory University.
—Graham Bowley, New York Times, 12 June 2023
Don’t believe the cries that the 5-4 decision will despoil America’s precious wetlands.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 May 2023
This remake injects some contemporary misfortune (humans despoil the water, we’re told).
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 24 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for despoil
Liza Featherstone, The New Republic, 16 June 2023
This urge to despoil images of the unpopular goes a long way toward explaining why so many statues of Nero lost their heads, said Eric R. Varner, professor of classics and art history at Emory University.
—Graham Bowley, New York Times, 12 June 2023
Don’t believe the cries that the 5-4 decision will despoil America’s precious wetlands.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 May 2023
This remake injects some contemporary misfortune (humans despoil the water, we’re told).
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 24 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for despoil
Recent Examples of Synonyms for despoil
Verb
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For decades, the terrorist group has plundered Gaza and sacrificed its people in pursuit of an unending messianic war to eliminate the Jewish state.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
18 Mar. 2025
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From [nautical] mile 200, the Argentine Navy [ …] under the coordination of the Joint Maritime Command, stands firm, patrolling and watching and ensuring that no foreign ship crosses our exclusive economic zone to plunder what belongs to Argentines.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Uh uh, method dressing is forever, at least for Timothée Chalamet—until the next role-of-a-lifetime comes along, or the parcels of Bob Dylan ephemera pillaged from the online auction houses stop coming through the young actor’s door that is.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
16 Mar. 2025
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For centuries, the East India Company, a commercial and military organization, pillaged the riches of India to fund the British Empire and the company’s own expansion.—
Michael Knights,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The city was sacked again — this time by the Turks — and incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.—
Danuta Hamlin,
FOXNews.com,
13 Apr. 2025
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At the crossroads of Roman roads in ancient Gaul, Cassel was sacked by the Vikings in the late 9th century, and later became a 17th-century war prize fought over by France and Spain.—
Mary Winston Nicklin,
AFAR Media,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Police say just before midnight that 10 people had been arrested citywide, including seven for breaking curfew and two for looting.—
Steve Earley,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Apr. 2025
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Their testimonies—detailing missing relatives, murdered family members, homes looted then burned—should shake us to our core.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Despoil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/despoil. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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