despoil

• POS: Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: de=spoil

OXFORD DICTIONARY

despoil, v.tr. literary (often foll. by of) plunder; rob; deprive (despoiled the roof of its lead).

Derivative

despoiler n. despoilment n. despoliation n.

Etymology

ME f. OF despoill(i)er f. L despoliare (as DE-, spoliare SPOIL)

THESAURUS

despoil

abuse, adulterate, afflict, aggrieve, alloy, befoul, betray, bewitch, bleed, bleed white, blight, bring to ruin, canker, cheapen, coarsen, condemn, confound, consume, contaminate, corrupt, crucify, curse, damage, damn, deal destruction, debase, debauch, deceive, decimate, defile, deflower, degenerate, degrade, denature, denude, deplume, deprave, depredate, desecrate, desolate, destroy, devalue, devastate, devour, disadvantage, displume, disserve, dissolve, distort, distress, divest, do a mischief, do evil, do ill, do wrong, do wrong by, doom, drain, dry, engorge, envenom, exhaust, flay, fleece, forage, foray, force, freeboot, get into trouble, gobble, gobble up, gut, gut with fire, harass, harm, havoc, hex, hurt, impair, impoverish, incinerate, infect, injure, jinx, lay in ruins, lay waste, lead astray, loot, maltreat, maraud, menace, milk, mislead, mistreat, misuse, molest, outrage, persecute, pervert, pick clean, pillage, play havoc with, play hob with, pluck, plunder, poison, pollute, prejudice, prey on, prostitute, raid, ransack, rape, ravage, raven, ravish, reive, rifle, ruin, ruinate, sack, savage, scathe, seduce, shear, shipwreck, skin, soil, spoil, spoliate, strip, strip bare, suck dry, sully, swallow up, sweep, taint, threaten, throw into disorder, torment, torture, twist, ulcerate, unleash destruction, unleash the hurricane, upheave, vandalize, vaporize, violate, vitiate, vulgarize, warp, waste, wound, wrack, wreak havoc, wreak havoc on, wreck, wrong

ROGET THESAURUS

despoil

Deterioration

VB be worse, be deteriorated, become worse, become deteriorated Adj, have seen better days, deteriorate, degenerate, fall off, wane, ebb, retrograde, decline, droop, go down, go downhill, go from bad to worse, go farther and fare worse, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal, lapse, be the worse for, sphacelate: break, break down, spring a leak, crack, start, shrivel, fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad, go to decay, fall into decay, fall into the sear and yellow leaf, rust, crumble, shake, totter, totter to its fall, perish, die, deteriorate, weaken, put back, set back, taint, infect, contaminate, poison, empoison, envenom, canker, corrupt, exulcerate, pollute, vitiate, inquinate, debase, embase, denaturalize, denature, leaven, deflower, debauch, defile, deprave, degrade, ulcerate, stain, discolor, alloy, adulterate, sophisticate, tamper with, prejudice, pervert, prostitute, demoralize, brutalize, render vicious, embitter, acerbate, exacerbate, aggravate, injure, impair, labefy, damage, harm, hurt, shend, scath, scathe, spoil, mar, despoil, dilapidate, waste, overrun, ravage, pillage, wound, stab, pierce, maim, lame, surbate, cripple, hough, hamstring, hit between wind and water, scotch, mangle, mutilate, disfigure, blemish, deface, warp, blight, rot, corrode, erode, wear away, wear out, gnaw, gnaw at the root of, sap, mine, undermine, shake, sap the foundations of, break up, disorganize, dismantle, dismast, destroy, damnify, do one's worst, knock down, deal a blow to, play havoc with, play sad havoc with, play the mischief with, play the deuce with, play the very devil with, play havoc among, play sad havoc among, play the mischief among, play the deuce among, play the very devil among, decimate.

N deterioration, debasement, wane, ebb, recession, retrogradation, decrease, degeneracy, degeneration, degenerateness, degradation, depravation, depravement, devolution, depravity, demoralization, retrogression, masochism, impairment, inquination, injury, damage, loss, detriment, delaceration, outrage, havoc, inroad, ravage, scath, perversion, prostitution, vitiation, discoloration, oxidation, pollution, defoedation, poisoning, venenation, leaven, contamination, canker, corruption, adulteration, alloy, decline, declension, declination, decadence, decadency, falling off, caducity, decrepitude, decay, dilapidation, ravages of time, wear and tear, corrosion, erosion, moldiness, rottenness, moth and rust, dry rot, blight, marasmus, atrophy, collapse, disorganization, delabrement (destruction), aphid, Aphis, plant louse, puceron, vinefretter, vinegrub, wreck, mere wreck, honeycomb, magni nominis umbra, jade, plug, rackabones, skate, tackey, tacky, have seen better days, deteriorate, degenerate, fall off, wane, ebb, retrograde, decline, droop, go down, go downhill, go from bad to worse, go farther and fare worse, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal, lapse, be the worse for, sphacelate: break, break down, spring a leak, crack, start, shrivel, fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad, go to decay, fall into decay, fall into the sear and yellow leaf, rust, crumble, shake, totter, totter to its fall, perish, die, deteriorate, weaken, put back, set back, taint, infect, contaminate, poison, empoison, envenom, canker, corrupt, exulcerate, pollute, vitiate, inquinate, debase, embase, denaturalize, denature, leaven, deflower, debauch, defile, deprave, degrade, ulcerate, stain, discolor, alloy, adulterate, sophisticate, tamper with, prejudice, pervert, prostitute, demoralize, brutalize, render vicious, embitter, acerbate, exacerbate, aggravate, injure, impair, labefy, damage, harm, hurt, shend, scath, scathe, spoil, mar, despoil, dilapidate, waste, overrun, ravage, pillage, wound, stab, pierce, maim, lame, surbate, cripple, hough, hamstring, hit between wind and water, scotch, mangle, mutilate, disfigure, blemish, deface, warp, blight, rot, corrode, erode, wear away, wear out, gnaw, gnaw at the root of, sap, mine, undermine, shake, sap the foundations of, break up, disorganize, dismantle, dismast, destroy, damnify, do one's worst, knock down, deal a blow to, play havoc with, play sad havoc with, play the mischief with, play the deuce with, play the very devil with, play havoc among, play sad havoc among, play the mischief among, play the deuce among, play the very devil among, decimate, Adj, unimproved &c (improve), deteriorated, altered, altered for the worse, injured, sprung, withering, spoiling, on the wane, on the decline, tabid, degenerate, marescent, worse, the worse for, all the worse for, out of repair, out of tune, imperfect, the worse for wear, battered, weathered, weather-beaten, stale, passe, shaken, dilapidated, frayed, faded, wilted, shabby, secondhand, threadbare, worn, worn to a thread, worn to a shadow, worn to the stump, worn to rags, reduced, reduced to a skeleton, far gone, tacky, decayed, moth-eaten, worm-eaten, mildewed, rusty, moldy, spotted, seedy, time-worn, moss-grown, discolored, effete, wasted, crumbling, moldering, rotten, cankered, blighted, tainted, depraved, decrepid, decrepit, broke, busted, broken, out of commission, hors de combat, out of action, broken down, done, done for, done up, worn out, used up, finished, beyond saving, fit for the dust hole, fit for the wastepaper basket, past work, at a low ebb, in a bad way, on one's last legs, undermined, deciduous, nodding to its fall, tottering, past cure, fatigued, retrograde, deleterious, out of the frying pan into the fire, agrescit medendo, what a falling off was there!.

Taking

VB take, catch, hook, nab, bag, sack, pocket, put into one's pocket, receive, accept, reap, crop, cull, pluck, gather, draw, appropriate, expropriate, impropriate, assume, possess oneself of, take possession of, commandeer, lay one's hands on, clap one's hands on, help oneself to, make free with, dip one's hands into, lay under contribution, intercept, scramble for, deprive of, take away, carry away, bear away, take off, carry off, bear off, adeem, abstract, hurry off with, run away with, abduct, steal, ravish, seize, pounce upon, spring upon, swoop to, swoop down upon, take by storm, take by assault, snatch, reave, snap up, nip up, whip up, catch up, kidnap, crimp, capture, lay violent hands on, get hold of, lay hold of, take hold of, catch hold of, lay fast hold of, take firm hold of, lay by the heels, take prisoner, fasten upon, grip, grapple, embrace, gripe, clasp, grab, clutch, collar, throttle, take by the throat, claw, clinch, clench, make sure of, catch at, jump at, make a grab at, snap at, snatch at, reach, make a long arm, stretch forth one's hand, take from, take away from, disseize, deduct, retrench, dispossess, ease one of, snatch from one's grasp, tear from, tear away from, wrench from, wrest from, wring from, extort, deprive of, bereave, disinherit, cut off with a shilling, oust, divest, levy, distrain, confiscate, sequester, sequestrate, accroach, usurp, despoil, strip, fleece, shear, displume, impoverish, eat out of house and home, drain, drain to the dregs, gut, dry, exhaust, swallow up, absorb, draw off, suck the blood of, suck like a leech, retake, resume, recover.

Stealing

VB steal, thieve, rob, mug, purloin, pilfer, filch, prig, bag, nim, crib, cabbage, palm, abstract, appropriate, plagiarize, convey away, carry off, abduct, kidnap, crimp, make off with, walk off with, run off with, run away with, spirit away, seize, plunder, pillage, rifle, sack, loot, ransack, spoil, spoliate, despoil, strip, sweep, gut, forage, levy blackmail, pirate, pickeer, maraud, lift cattle, poach, smuggle, run, badger, bail up, hold up, stick up, bunco, bunko, filibuster, swindle, peculate, embezzle, sponge, mulct, rook, bilk, pluck, pigeon, fleece, defraud, obtain under false pretenses, live by one's wits, rob Peter to pay Paul, borrow of Peter to pay Paul, set a thief to catch a thief, disregard the distinction between meum and tuum, fence, launder, launder money.