ravaging
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rav·age
(răv′ĭj)v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages
v.tr.
1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town.
2. To pillage; sack: Enemy soldiers ravaged the village.
v.intr.
To wreak destruction.
n.
1. The act or practice of pillaging or destroying: the marauders' ravage of the village.
2.
a. Destruction, damage, or harm: The storm resulted in the ravage of the countryside.
b. ravages Destructive or harmful effects: the ravages of disease.
[French ravager, from Old French, to uproot, from ravir, to ravish; see ravish.]
rav′ag·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  ravaging - plundering with excessive damage and destructionpillaging, plundering, pillage - the act of stealing valuable things from a place; "the plundering of the Parthenon"; "his plundering of the great authors" |
| Adj. | 1. | ravaging - ruinously destructive and wasting; "a ravaging illness" destructive - causing destruction or much damage; "a policy that is destructive to the economy"; "destructive criticism" |
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