despoil

Word family

• despoiler
  nounC2
• despoliation
  nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe stealing on a large scale, often during conflict. Loot is the most common word and can refer to stealing from shops during riots or by soldiers in war. Pillage strongly suggests war or invasion with destruction of the place itself. Plunder is similar to pillage but can also mean systematic exploitation, for example a company plundering natural resources. Ransack emphasizes violent searching, turning things over in the hunt for valuables. Despoil is the most formal and literary of these options, often used when the theft leaves a place stripped of its beauty or spiritual meaning. For instance, soldiers might plunder a city, but vandals despoil a temple — the emphasis falls on the loss of sacred or beautiful objects, not just material goods.

Common collocations

Etymology

Despoil traces back to the Latin verb despoliāre, meaning to plunder or strip, formed from the prefix dē- (away, off) and spoliāre (to strip, rob), which itself comes from spolium (spoils, plunder). The word entered English through Old French despoillier during the Middle English period, around the 13th century.