despoil — c.1300, from O.Fr. despoillier (12c., Mod.Fr. dépouiller) to strip, rob, deprive of, steal, borrow, from L. despoliare to rob, despoil, plunder, from de entirely (see DE (Cf. de )) + spoliare to strip of clothing, rob, from spolium armor, booty… … Etymology dictionary
despoil — de*spoil , n. Spoil. [Obs.] Wolsey. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
despoil — I verb assail, attack, bereave, consume, denude, deplume, depredate, deprive, desolate, devastate, devour, dispossess, divest, forage, foray, impoverish, invade, lay waste, leave destitute, loot, make off with, maraud, overrun, pilfer, pillage,… … Law dictionary
despoil — *ravage, devastate, waste, sack, pillage, spoliate Analogous words: plunder, *rob, rifle, loot: *strip, bare, denude … New Dictionary of Synonyms
despoil — [v] ravage, destroy denude, depopulate, depredate, deprive, desecrate, desolate, devastate, devour, dispossess, divest, loot, maraud, pillage, plunder, raid, rifle, rob, sack, spoil, spoliate, strip, vandalize, waste, wreak havoc, wreck; concept… … New thesaurus
despoil — ► VERB literary ▪ steal valuable possessions from. DERIVATIVES despoiler noun despoliation noun. ORIGIN Latin despoliare rob, plunder … English terms dictionary
despoil — [dē spoil′, dispoil′] vt. [ME despoilen < OFr despoiller < L despoliare < de , intens. + spoliare, to strip, rob: see SPOIL] to deprive of something of value by or as by force; rob; plunder SYN. RAVAGE despoiler n. despoilment n … English World dictionary
despoil — v. (formal) (D; tr.) to despoil of * * * [dɪ spɔɪl] (formal) (D; tr.) to despoil of … Combinatory dictionary
despoil — UK [dɪˈspɔɪl] / US verb [transitive] Word forms despoil : present tense I/you/we/they despoil he/she/it despoils present participle despoiling past tense despoiled past participle despoiled literary to take all the valuable or beautiful objects… … English dictionary
despoil — [[t]dɪspɔ͟ɪl[/t]] despoils, despoiling, despoiled VERB To despoil a place means to make it less attractive, valuable, or important by taking things away from it or by destroying it. [FORMAL] [V n] People picking mushrooms are sometimes stopped by … English dictionary
