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⚔️ To steal by force ⚔️ Stealing by force 💰 Stolen goods
pillage

pillage

1 7.9
Things taken by force during war or riots
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪlɪdʒ/
translation icon : botín
  • Saving Greece was also supposed to scare away the bond vigilantes and anyone else who might think that the sovereign debt of any of the eurozone members was vulnerable to financial rape and pillage.

Examples

  • They think that we stole wealth and riches and plundered in pillage from foreign countries, from indigenous people, from the developing world.

  • The most valuable pieces, accordingly, Himilkar sent to Carthage, among which, as it turned out, was the bull of Phalaris, and the rest of the pillage he sold as booty.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Some treasures hidden in vaults escaped the pillage only for a short time.

    Academic text (2003)

  • I agree with you that Amazon won't be going on any author "rape and pillage" sprees anytime soon.

    Blog text (12)

  • Know Me Friends, author of It Takes a Pillage behind the bailouts, bonuses and backroom deals from Washington to Wall Street.

  • She stopped her pillage at a nearby granary and strode back toward the boy in large, confident steps.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The choice of our lifetime: Mitt Romney, It Takes a Pillage, or President Barack Obama, Forward.

    Blog text (14)

  • Meanwhile, Mr. Rape and Pillage took Papa's money and used it and other people's money to amass a fortune by taking over failing companies and using bankruptcy law and outsourcing to slave camps to squeeze a profit out of them.

    Blog text (7)

  • The army returned with treasures from their successful pillage of the enemy's stronghold.

  • Many families lost everything during the pillage that followed the invading forces.

Synonyms

booty
vspillage
180 7.7

Valuable things or money taken illegally, often during a raid

is the neutral term for forcible wartime seizure rather than slang
loot
vspillage
53 4.4

Things stolen from shops during chaos

is the formal wartime seizure term not the casual slang use
prize
vspillage
  • Archaic
38 9.1

Goods taken illegally, often by soldiers or pirates

is used mainly for captures in piracy or war rather than ordinary theft
spoil
vspillage
35 7.8

Valuable things taken by force, often during war

is the general label for seized goods not informal gains
stolen property
vspillage
24 2.8

Things that someone takes without permission

is narrower in focusing on forceful wartime seizure rather than all thefts
plunder
vspillage
15 5.5

Things taken by force during war or robbery

is the same idea but used more in general or formal contexts
swag
vspillage
  • Archaic
4 9.4

Valuable things that thieves take

is the standard neutral word for forceful wartime taking

Antonyms

protection
  • Specialized
195 2.0

Government actions that try to keep local businesses safe from foreign competition

How Valuable

pillage
1 7.9
booty
180 7.7
plunder
15 5.5

Surface Forms

pillage singular
pillages plural

Etymology

Pillage (the goods taken) comes from old French piller and Latin pilare 'to pluck', from pilus 'hair', so think of people 'plucking' objects away. That image explains why pillage as a noun means the loot or items taken by force.