spoliation

Definition of spoliationnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spoliation However, the present tax system does not encourage conservation but rather encourages spoliation of our environment through greed and profit based on an income tax system. Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 5 May 2026 McGinnis’ lawyer said that was tantamount to spoliation — or destruction of evidence. Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026 The spoliation inference becomes a presumption of guilt that's incredibly challenging to overcome. Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025 Last Friday, Damien Marshall and other King & Spalding attorneys on behalf of MSG filed a memorandum of law in opposition to Oakley’s motion for what are known as spoliation sanctions, meaning a punishment for failure to preserve relevant evidence. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 May 2025 An attorney who allows a client to continue using their phone risks spoliation as normal usage can overwrite or erase crucial data. Lars Daniel, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025 That amounts to spoliation, the defense claims, and should result in the dismissal of the charges against Trump. Perry Stein, Washington Post, 30 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoliation
Noun
  • Success will be measured by agreements and judgments that resolve big lawsuits, but also by changes in corporate behavior that leave consumers less vulnerable to manipulation and predation.
    Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
  • Invertebrates, on the other hand, were seen as prey that evolved protective structures such as hard shells in response to predation.
    Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • More than $1 million has reportedly been paid to rancher claimants for wildlife depredation.
    DP Opinion, Denver Post, 18 May 2026
  • His nanny was his fierce protector and insulated him from the depredations of Nazis and their enablers, baptizing him and teaching him to handily hurl anti-Jewish epithets to fit in.
    Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
Noun
  • Some have traveled farther as part of colonial-era collections — as far as the British Museum — and been returned; a story unto itself about the plundering of the natural world in the age of empire, and institutions reckoning with their inheritance.
    Tom Page, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Living through the aftermath of Rome’s plundering in 410 by the Visigoths, Augustine keenly appreciated the fact that empires come and go.
    Brett Whalen, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Some start in the 1800s, and others start post-1970 under the UNESCO framework that has outlawed the looting of cultural heritage across the world.
    Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 11 May 2026
  • The looting report in Haaretz follows several other misconduct complaints against Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.
    Max Saltman, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The people who've made it out are telling us horror stories of mass killings, of rape and pillage of women and families.
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Vikings, for example, used the extra daylight to sneak in a longer pillage sesh.
    Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • Many Indians and students of colonialism see it as a symbol of the British Empire and the domination and plunder of imperialism.
    Emma Caughlan, NBC news, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Critics contend the industry plunders distressed companies, leading to downsizing and cost-cutting that hurts local communities, though other research has pushed back on that reputation.
    Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
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
  • In fact, researchers know that pirates – basically just thieves on the water – targeted these river boats, because Egyptian pharaohs left records grumbling about pirates and their widespread pillaging.
    Brandon Prins, The Conversation, 14 July 2025
Noun
  • Jude was painfully conscious of the despoiling of his creative talents.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Spoliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoliation. Accessed 23 May. 2026.

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