despoil
despoil · despoils · despoiled · despoiling
To plunder; to pillage; take spoil fromTo plunder; to pillage; take spoil from.
/dɪˈspɔɪl/
» Garbage despoiled the landscape where she had played as a child.
Meaning
3 senses(transitive)To plunder; to pillage; take spoil from.
(transitive)To violently strip (someone), with indirect object of their possessions etc.; to rob.
(obsolete, reflexive, transitive)To strip (someone) of their clothes; to undress.
destroy and strip of its possession
Examples
2 sentencesGarbage despoiled the landscape where she had played as a child.
Since they have despoiled us, it is our turn to rob them.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
From Middle English despoylen, dispoylen, from Old French despoillier ( > French dépouilleFrom Middle English despoylen, dispoylen, from Old French despoillier ( > French dépouiller), from Latin dēspoliō, dēspoliāre.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
despoils, despoiling, despoiled, despoiledSynonyms
11 synonymsWord family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle