Ravage \Rav"age\ (r[a^]v"[asl]j; 48), n. [F., fr. (assumed) L. rapagium, rapaticum, fr. rapere to carry off by force, to ravish. See {Rapacious}, {Ravish}.] Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction; devastation; havoc; waste; as, the ravage of a lion; the ravages of fire or tempest; the ravages of an army, or of time.
Would one think 't were possible for love To make such ravage in a noble soul? --Addison.
Ravage \Rav"age\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ravaged} (r[a^]v"[asl]jd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Ravaging} (r[a^]v"[asl]*j[i^]ng).] [F. ravager. See {Ravage}, n.] To lay waste by force; to desolate by violence; to commit havoc or devastation upon; to spoil; to plunder; to consume.
Already C[ae]sar Has ravaged more than half the globe. --Addison.
His lands were daily ravaged, his cattle driven away. --Macaulay.
Millions of Iranians on Friday protested the U.S.-led forces in the Persian Gulf with chants of "Death to America!" and Iraq warned that war in the region would ravage other Arab states and Israel.
Hirsch works for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is importing the beetles in the hope they will ravage the spurge infesting 1.2 million acres across the state.
NBC is about to ravage the nation's second largest city in an upcoming mini-series, "The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake." Just remember, it's sweeps time.