despoil Hear it!

despoil Definition

de·spoil (dē spo̵il, di-)

transitive verb

to deprive of something of value by or as by force; rob; plunder

Etymology: ME despoilen < OFr despoiller < L despoliare < de-, intens. + spoliare, to strip, rob: see spoil

despoil Related Forms

de·spoiler noun de·spoil·ment noun

despoil Synonyms

despoil

v.

plunder, pillage, maraud; see raid, ravage, rob. See syn. study at ravage.

despoil Usage Examples

Object

  • land: Time to think of such things when we have purged the corruption which despoils the land and enslaves my people.
  • environment: Or should he concentrate, instead, on the way the company's out-of-town stores have despoiled the environment?
  • site: A second-rate building, despoiling a first-class archeological site, in a city of world renown.
  • Egyptian: This is what they did and the Torah says that they ' despoiled the Egyptians ' according to the St James ' version.
  • landscape: It was evident, however, that he was also deeply upset by ugly, neglected or despoiled landscapes.
  • countryside: Current prejudice is against all these as either ' slummy ' or despoiling the countryside.

Browse dictionary entries near despoil

  1. despiteful
  2. despite
  3. despise
  4. despicable
  5. desperation
  6. desperately
  7. desperate
  8. desperado
  9. despatch
  10. despairing
  1. despoliation
  2. despond
  3. despondency
  4. despondent
  5. despot
  6. despotic
  7. despotism
  8. despumate
  9. desquamate
  10. Dessau