as in looting
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as in plundering
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
soldiers pillaging the countryside for anything of value
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pillaging
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
More than a dozen others immediately flooded the shattered entrance, pillaging the place — breaking display cases and grabbing thousands of dollars in jewelry.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The internet, too, has rewired our brains in countless ways, overwhelming us with information while pillaging our attention spans.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025
If peaceable trading isn't your dream, consider the corsair life, pillaging other ships for their precious cargo.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
Amid the pillaging of homes, Roman magistrates were likely sent to the city to prevent an anarchic type of existence, based on ancient literary sources the authors referenced in the study.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
Certainly, its portrait of a futuristic society dominated by raping, pillaging youth gangs speaking a bizarre Russian-English hybrid slang struck a few different nerves — as did its tale of one teenage sociopath’s questionable reprogramming back into society after a stint in prison.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
More than a dozen others immediately flooded the shattered entrance, pillaging the place — breaking display cases and grabbing thousands of dollars in jewelry.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The internet, too, has rewired our brains in countless ways, overwhelming us with information while pillaging our attention spans.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025
If peaceable trading isn't your dream, consider the corsair life, pillaging other ships for their precious cargo.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillaging
Noun
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There were fights and looting, and by the afternoon, a fire was set at a shop on West Madison Street, according to the documentary notes.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
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And, as bad as all that looting was, the wealth that remained in Congo constituted only a small percentage of what was being made on markets globally, and from the technology those minerals powered.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Most Americans don’t want our nation to be an imperial aggressor threatening, conquering and plundering weaker nations.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
2 Feb. 2026
-
An increasing number of bears had previously been observed spending more time on land during the summer, plundering birds’ nests in west Svalbard, and data had shown more adult females in east Svalbard spending more time in areas with bird colonies.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Wilcox has a prior criminal history that includes convictions in Nebraska for Hobbs Act robbery, use of a weapon during a violent crime, and the armed robbery of an armored car, as well as convictions for bank robbery in Iowa and various other financial offenses, according to court documents.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
11 Feb. 2026
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Keith Brown, 58, was charged with first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree robbery and several other crimes, local Fox affiliate KTVI reported.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But their deployment, marauding the streets of American communities, operating with military posture and lethal force, supersedes that mission and strikes at the heart of constitutional governance.—
Larry Pino,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
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In this instance, the protests were combined with citizen surveillance of marauding federal agents, primarily through the use of smartphone recordings.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Seattle defense, which nicknamed itself the Dark Side, lived in quarterback Drake Maye’s face, sacking him six times and harassing him into three turnovers.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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Seattle swarmed quarterback Drake Maye all game, sacking him six times and forcing three turnovers, leaving New England scoreless through the first three quarters.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In October 2024, 20 mountain lions were killed through depredation permits statewide, the DFW reported.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
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Wolf depredation in Cochise County last summer resulted in the relocation of a pack from southern Arizona to captivity in New Mexico.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has stressed that the agency is not invading or raiding classrooms.—
Arthur Jones II,
ABC News,
5 Feb. 2026
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But is raiding your retirement for a home purchase a financially sound idea?—
Becca Stanek,
TheWeek,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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After more than a century of plunder and strife, under tyrants as diverse as King Leopold II of Belgium and Mobutu Sese Seko, the present-day DRC still occupies the dark heart of the continent in much of the world’s imagination.—
Holden Frith,
TheWeek,
9 Jan. 2026
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The Venezuelan regime is broadly unpopular in Latin America; its socialism of plunder has sent millions of desperate people into Colombia and other states.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pillaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillaging. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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