To ravage means to cause severe and widespread damage or destruction. When a hurricane ravages a coastline, it tears apart buildings, uproots trees, and floods entire neighborhoods. When wildfires ravage a forest, they consume thousands of acres, leaving behind blackened earth and ash.

The word carries a sense of violent, devastating force. A disease might ravage a population, spreading quickly and causing terrible suffering. Time can ravage an abandoned house, slowly breaking down its walls and roof until it becomes unsafe. War ravages countries, destroying not just buildings but entire ways of life.

Ravage suggests damage that goes beyond simple harm: it means thorough destruction that leaves things barely recognizable. You might hear someone say that drought ravaged farmland, or that age had ravaged an old photograph until you could barely make out the faces. The related word ravages (as a noun) refers to the destructive effects themselves, as in “the ravages of time” or “the ravages of war.”

When something has been ravaged, it needs serious repair or rebuilding. The word reminds us how powerful destructive forces can be, whether they come from nature, conflict, or simply the passage of years.