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despoil

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
de·spoil  (d-spoil)
tr.v. de·spoiled, de·spoil·ing, de·spoils
1. To sack; plunder.
2. To deprive of something valuable by force; rob: a region despoiled of its scenic beauty by unchecked development.

[Middle English despoilen, from Old French despoillier, from Latin dspolire : d-, de- + spolire, to plunder (from spolium, booty).]

de·spoiler n.
de·spoilment n.

despoil [dɪˈspɔɪl]
vb
(tr) to strip or deprive by force; plunder; rob; loot
[from Old French despoillier, from Latin dēspoliāre, from de- + spoliāre to rob (esp of clothing); see spoil]
despoiler  n
despoilment  n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.despoil - steal goods; take as spoils; "During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners"
take - take by force; "Hitler took the Baltic Republics"; "The army took the fort on the hill"
deplume, displume - strip of honors, possessions, or attributes
2.despoil - destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country"
ruin, destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up"

despoil
verb (Formal) plunder, destroy, strip, rob, devastate, wreck, rifle, deprive, loot, trash (slang), total (slang), ravage, dispossess, pillage, divest, denude, vandalize, wreak havoc upon the modern day industry which has despoiled the town
Translations
despoil [dɪsˈpɔɪl] VTdespojar (of de)
despoil
vt personberauben (→ of gen); countrysideausplündern


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We have seen, in all the examples of ancient and modern confederacies, the strongest tendency continually betraying itself in the members, to despoil the general government of its authorities, with a very ineffectual capacity in the latter to defend itself against the encroachments.
"Tell me," cried Danglars, in a tone whose bitterness Harpagon* alone has been capable of revealing -- "tell the that you wish to despoil me of all; it will be sooner over than devouring me piecemeal.
Let us kill as many as we can; the bodies will lie upon the plain, and you can despoil them later at your leisure.
 
 
 
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