despoil

Word family

de·spoil /dɪˈspɔɪl/ verb [transitiveT] literary

1. DAMAGEto make a place much less attractive by removing or damaging things 毁坏，破坏 → spoil

2. STEALto steal from a place or people using force, especially in a war 〔尤指战争中〕掠夺，劫掠

Examples from the Corpus

despoil• On the contrary, they saw themselves as purifying a church that had become diluted, dehydrated, and despoiled.• It made little difference if a dreadful rash despoiled both little faces.• The sandy beaches are being despoiled by an oil spill.• Regulated, socialised economies trample on human dignity, despoil the natural environment and depress economic performance.

Origin despoil

(1200-1300) Old French despoillier, from Latin spoliare “to rob”

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus

TOEFL BNC: 33302 COCA: 28620

despoil