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ravage

ravage

16 7.4
Serious damage that happens over time, for example after war or neglect
  • noun
  • /ˈrævɪdʒ/
translation icon : estragos
  • His dark, craggy face was lined, but from a hard, cruel life, not from the ravages of age.
  • ravages of time
  • ravages of war

And that's fine if you have seen the ravages of narcissistic abuse and what it does to people's mental health.

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Examples

  • So they moved the Ark to Ekron, and that city also suffered the ravages of the terrible plague.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Marble and paint are subject to the ravages of time.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • What does it look like when the ravages of time have taken over these things?

  • And seems to me it's a hell of a lot better than being exposed to the ravages of stress.

  • Others simply hoped to protect their persons or investments from the ravages of war.

    Academic text (2001)
  • I'd say I'm pretty sound, considering the ravages of time.

  • They were full of health and apparently immune to the ravages of the disease.

  • On every side lay cultivated fields showing no sign of war and war's ravages.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Today, only isolated spots remain unscathed by the ravages of civilization and the tourist onslaught.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The sculptures showed the ravages of time, with cracks and discoloration marking their surfaces.

Synonyms

destruction
vsravage
849 3.0

Severe damage that makes something no longer exist or cannot be fixed

indicates severe harm that may be gradual and not necessarily total loss
depredation
vsravage
  • Specialized
4 9.8

Damage and stealing caused by a violent attack

focuses on long-term severe harm rather than a single attacking event
destructiveness
vsravage
4 6.8

A tendency to cause damage to people or things

names a concrete damaging effect occurring over time rather than an abstract trait
ravaging
vsravage
1 8.7

An action that causes great damage or destruction

expresses severe damage occurring over time rather than sudden plundering

Antonyms

352 2.3

Work done to fix something that is broken

98 3.4

The act of returning something to its original state

How Destructive

annihilation
  • NSFW
47 8.1
ravage
16 7.4
to damage
885 1.4
harm
820 1.0
scratch
203 1.6

Surface Forms

ravage singular
ravages plural

Etymology

The word ravages (as in 'the ravages of time') comes from the same Latin root rapere, which meant 'to seize' and was used for plunder. So ravages are the destructive effects that seem to 'take away' things over time, like the damage left by a storm or war.