ravish
/'ræviʃ/
Definition
- Verb:
- To force someone to have sexual intercourse against their will; to rape. This is the primary and most serious meaning, describing a violent sexual crime.
- (Archaic or literary) To seize and carry away by force; to abduct. This older meaning is now rare in everyday use.
- (Archaic or literary) To fill with intense delight; to enrapture. This sense describes being overcome with powerful emotion, often joy or wonder.
Usage and Examples
- Verb (to rape):
- The soldiers were accused of attempting to ravish the villagers.
- The novel's villain sought to ravish the heroine.
- Verb (archaic: to seize/abduct):
- In the myth, Hades ravished Persephone to the underworld.
- Verb (archaic/literary: to enrapture):
- She was ravished by the beauty of the symphony.
- The audience sat, utterly ravished by the performer's voice.
Advanced Usage and Notes
- Context is Critical: The meaning of "ravish" is entirely dependent on context. In modern legal, journalistic, or everyday contexts, it almost exclusively means "to rape." The other meanings are found in historical texts, poetry, or very formal/literary language.
- Conjugation: The past tense and past participle are ravished. The present participle is ravishing.
- "Ravishing" as an Adjective: The adjective ravishing is common and means "stunningly beautiful or attractive." It derives from the "enrapture" sense.
- She looked absolutely ravishing in that dress.
Variants and Related Words
- Ravishment (noun):
- The act of raping; violation.
- (Archaic) The act of carrying away by force.
- (Archaic) A state of great delight or rapture.
- Ravishing (adjective): Extremely beautiful; enchanting.
- Ravisher (noun): A person who rapes or abducts.
Synonyms
- For "to rape": Violate, assault, force oneself upon.
- For "to seize/abduct" (archaic): Abduct, kidnap, snatch, carry off.
- For "to enrapture" (literary): Enchant, enthrall, captivate, delight, transport.
Idioms and Phrases
- (To be) ravished with joy/delight: An archaic/literary phrase meaning to be overcome with happiness.
- He was ravished with delight at the news.
Verb
-
hold spellbound
-
force (someone) to have sex against their will
-
The woman was raped on her way home at night
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