pillage
/'pilidʤ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
The earthquake survivors were forced to pillage the deserted stores for food.
Definition
Noun:
- The act of stealing valuable things from a place, especially during war or conflict: "Pillage" refers to the violent and systematic theft of goods, often accompanied by destruction, typically by an invading army or conquering force.
- Goods or money obtained illegally through such acts: "Pillage" can also refer to the stolen property itself, the loot or spoils taken.
Verb:
- To steal goods from a place, especially during a war or riot, using force: The verb "to pillage" means to plunder, loot, or sack a place, taking valuable items by force.
Usage Examples
Noun: The ancient city was left in ruins after the pillage by the invading army.The museum's collection was lost to centuries of war and pillage.
Verb: The barbarian tribes would often pillage villages along the coast.Historical accounts describe how the conquistadors pillaged the temples for gold.
Advanced Usage
- "To lay waste and pillage": A formal or literary phrase emphasizing total destruction and theft.
Variants and Related Words
- Pillager (noun): A person who pillages; a plunderer.
- Pillaging (noun/gerund): The act or process of pillaging.
Synonyms
- Plunder (verb/noun): To rob of goods by force, especially in wartime.
- Loot (verb/noun): To steal goods, typically during a riot or military action.
- Sack (verb): To plunder and destroy a captured town or building.
- Despoil (verb): To strip of possessions by force; to rob.
Related Phrases
- "To go on a pillage": To engage in a spree of looting and destruction.
The earthquake survivors were forced to pillage the deserted stores for food.
Noun
- the act of stealing valuable things from a place
- the plundering of the Parthenon
- his plundering of the great authors
- goods or money obtained illegally
Verb
- steal goods; take as spoils
- During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners