as in exterminations
formal
a usually violent act in which something is damaged or destroyed or in which a person or animal is killed
The town had somehow escaped the depredations of enemy soldiers.
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Recent Examples of depredations
This also lines up with the DNR’s data, which shows that most wolf depredations on hunting dogs take place during the hound training season in July and August, as well as during hunting season in the fall.
—
Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 Oct. 2025
Despite years of sitting on the sidelines, the United States has an opportunity to reassert itself in seeking to end the depredations of the junta and advance the cause of democracy in Myanmar.
—Dan Swift, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
Much of Russian research never fully recovered from the depredations of the Stalin era.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, Idaho Wildlife Services investigated 99 wolf depredations.
—Nathan Rott, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 Oct. 2025
Despite years of sitting on the sidelines, the United States has an opportunity to reassert itself in seeking to end the depredations of the junta and advance the cause of democracy in Myanmar.
—Dan Swift, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
Much of Russian research never fully recovered from the depredations of the Stalin era.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, Idaho Wildlife Services investigated 99 wolf depredations.
—Nathan Rott, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depredations
Noun
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But over exploitation often followed, leading to depletions and extinctions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
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The 2025 list of extinctions includes a bird, a shrew and a species of snail, among others.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Romans were masters at using rewards and punishment to manage foreign states, from grants of citizenship to massacres of rebels.—
Barry Strauss,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Among the passengers was Qahtan Khalil, director of Syria’s air force intelligence, who was accused of being directly responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres of the country’s 13-year civil war.—
Danny Makki,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Depredations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depredations. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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