— ravagement , n. — ravager , n.
/rav"ij/ , v. , ravaged, ravaging , n.
v.t.
1. to work havoc upon; damage or mar by ravages: a face ravaged by grief.
v.i.
2. to work havoc; do ruinous damage.
n.
3. havoc; ruinous damage: the ravages of war.
4. devastating or destructive action.
[ 1605-15; rav ( ir ) to RAVISH + -age -AGE ]
Syn. 1. ruin, despoil, plunder, pillage, sack. RAVAGE, DEVASTATE, LAY WASTE all refer, in their literal application, to the wholesale destruction of a countryside by an invading army (or something comparable). LAY WASTE has remained the closest to the original meaning of destruction of land: The invading army laid waste the towns along the coast. But RAVAGE and DEVASTATE are used in reference to other types of violent destruction and may also have a purely figurative application.
RAVAGE is often used of the results of epidemics: The Black Plague ravaged 14th-century Europe; and even of the effect of disease or suffering on the human countenance: a face ravaged by despair. DEVASTATE, in addition to its concrete meaning ( vast areas devastated by bombs ), may be used figuratively: a devastating remark. 4. ruin, waste, desolation.
Ant. 1. build, repair. 4. creation.