1
as in to plunder
to search through with the intent of committing robbery
it was clear that the thieves who had ransacked the museum were professionals—they bypassed most of the exhibits and went straight for the vaults
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
I've ransacked the whole house for that book you lent me and it's nowhere to be found
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ransack
Advertisement Sources with knowledge of the recent incident, who requested anonymity over concerns of potential retaliation, said men ransacked and torched the Zambada mausoleum located near Culiacán on Jan. 4.
—
Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
His claims about the 2020 election ultimately encouraged supporters to ransack the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s 2020 win.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
Fighters broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.
—Melanie Lidman, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025
Supporters then marched to the Capitol, with hundreds charged with assaulting, resisting, impeding or obstructing police during a civil disorder and others ransacking congressional offices and occupying the Senate chamber.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ransack
Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
His claims about the 2020 election ultimately encouraged supporters to ransack the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s 2020 win.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 3 Jan. 2025
Fighters broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.
—Melanie Lidman, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025
Supporters then marched to the Capitol, with hundreds charged with assaulting, resisting, impeding or obstructing police during a civil disorder and others ransacking congressional offices and occupying the Senate chamber.
—Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ransack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ransack
Verb
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In Musk’s telling, Altman illegally partnered with Microsoft to establish a web of illicit affiliates and plunder its nonprofit arm of assets and staff in violation of their deal.—
Winston Cho,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Feb. 2025
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Loggers are plundering giant sequoias in Yosemite and poachers are decimating bison herds in Yellowstone.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside Online,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Ducks are demanding more attention to detail from the offensive specialist, and getting it, but Zegras is still searching for a way to hang on to the parts of his game that once separated him.—
Chris Johnston,
The Athletic,
25 Feb. 2025
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For example, Baca Systems shared that before AI agents, customers who called the company with service questions (typically about a hardware issue) would wait an average of five to seven minutes while a human agent searched for relevant cases and analyzed technical documents.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Capitals were pillaged, towns were razed, and friendships were irreparably fractured.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
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Reports and social media videos showed the region's factories pillaged and prisons emptied while electricity remained on and communication lines open in most places.—
JUSTIN KABUMBA,
arkansasonline.com,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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McNeeley gave UConn its first lead since the score was 2-0 with a pair of free throws, and Ball found Reed again for a two-handed slam that put the Huskies up four with 1:11 to go.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
19 Feb. 2025
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ZiPS, a popular player projection model found on FanGraphs, predicts Goldschmidt will hit .250/.325/.437 with 23 homers, 81 RBI, a 116 wRC+ and 2.2 WAR in 2025.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Ex-head coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked and had been replaced by Graham Potter.—
Roshane Thomas,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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He was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, finishing with a QB rating of 42.2. NFL pundits began to question Mahomes’ legacy in the immediate aftermath of the game.—
Ryan Gaydos,
Fox News,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The announcement also acknowledged the items had been looted by British soldiers in 1897 from the Kingdom of Benin, sold, and eventually ended up in the Dutch State Collection.—
Karen K. Ho,
ARTnews.com,
21 Feb. 2025
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An escaped convict teams up with his Italian buddy and an army deserter to plan a spectacular bank robbery, looting a U.S. military base for the necessary firepower.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The world is a stakeholder, not a bystander, and cannot remain silent as Brazil despoils this indispensable carbon sink, irreplaceable oxygen source, and precious repository of plant and animal life.—
Stewart Patrick,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Oct. 2021
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Meanwhile, human activity has imperiled biodiversity as people despoil lands and waters, introduce invasive species, and harvest natural resources unsustainably.—
Stewart Patrick,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Oct. 2021
Verb
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After it was flagged to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2016, her home was raided.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
25 Feb. 2025
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Shortly thereafter, federal agents raided the Department of Education’s (DOE) headquarters at Tweed Courthouse, searching for further evidence of corruption.—
Matt Gonzales,
New York Daily News,
23 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ransack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ransack. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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