Word Confusion: Ravage versus Ravish

Posted March 17, 2012 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
21 Dec 2022

Ravage versus ravish is destruction versus overwhelming acts.

I always feel so sorry for the heroine who is being “ravaged” in a book. I can never figure out if she’s picked up on a really gritty facial scrub and applied it too vigorously or she’s being beaten to death or viciously raped. Do note that ravage never encompasses any delight. Well, except that of the soldier, rioter, or force of nature intent on destruction.

On the other hand, ravish is an odd word. It ranges from fill with joy, delight, charm, captivate, and attract to rape.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Ravage	Ravish
Destruction in Bab Dreeb, Homs, Syria, is Bo yaser‘s own work and under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — A neighborhood ravaged by a bomb.	Carlisle Wall (The Lovers) is by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — This is a “ravish” I can get into.
Part of Grammar:
Noun Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: ravages Gerund: ravaging Third person present verb: ravages Past tense or past participle: ravaged Present participle: ravaging	Verb, transitive Third person present verb: ravishes Past tense or past participle: ravished Present participle: ravishing
Noun: Act or habit of destroying or plundering something Acts of destruction Severely damaging or disfiguring effects of something, especially time Verb, intransitive: To commit destructive actions Wreck or utterly destroy something through a violent onslaught of some kind Plunder or sack a place or area Verb, transitive: Cause severe and extensive damage to To wreak havoc on Affect destructively	[Archaic] Carry something or someone off by violent force Force someone to engage in sexual intercourse [Literary] Overwhelm someone with deep and pleasurable feelings or emotions
Examples:
Noun: His face had withstood the ravages of time. The ravages of smog badly affects public buildings made of stone. He bemoaned the ravages committed by man. Verb, intransitive: Hurricane Andrew ravaged Louisiana and Florida in 1992, causing $19 billion in damage. Verb, transitive: The country feared that a war could ravage their country. The tsunami ravaged the Indonesian coastline. Napoleon’s armies ravaged the countryside.	She had the most ravishing features. He ravished her with his eyes. The conquering soldiers ravished most of the females in the city. Ravished by a sunny afternoon, she had agreed without even thinking.
Derivatives:
Noun: ravagement, ravager	Noun: ravisher, ravishment
History of the Word:
Its first known use was circa 1611. Early 17th century from the French ravager, from the earlier ravage and an alteration of ravine meaning rush of water.	Its first known use was in the 14th century. Middle English from the Old French raviss-, a lengthened stem of ravir, from an alteration of the Latin rapere meaning seize or rob.

Ravage

Ravish

Destruction in Bab Dreeb, Homs, Syria, is Bo yaser‘s own work and under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

—

A neighborhood ravaged by a bomb.

Carlisle Wall (The Lovers) is a Rossetti painting

Carlisle Wall (The Lovers) is by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

—

This is a “ravish” I can get into.

Part of Grammar:

Noun
Verb, intransitive & transitive

Plural for the noun: ravages
Gerund: ravaging

Third person present verb: ravages
Past tense or past participle: ravaged
Present participle: ravaging

Verb, transitive

Third person present verb: ravishes
Past tense or past participle: ravished
Present participle: ravishing

Noun:
Act or habit of destroying or plundering something

Acts of destruction

Severely damaging or disfiguring effects of something, especially time

Verb, intransitive:
To commit destructive actions

Wreck or utterly destroy something through a violent onslaught of some kind

Plunder or sack a place or area

Verb, transitive:
Cause severe and extensive damage to

To wreak havoc on

Affect destructively

[Archaic] Carry something or someone off by violent force

Force someone to engage in sexual intercourse

[Literary] Overwhelm someone with deep and pleasurable feelings or emotions

Examples:

Noun:
His face had withstood the ravages of time.

The ravages of smog badly affects public buildings made of stone.

He bemoaned the ravages committed by man.

Verb, intransitive:
Hurricane Andrew ravaged Louisiana and Florida in 1992, causing $19 billion in damage.

Verb, transitive:
The country feared that a war could ravage their country.

The tsunami ravaged the Indonesian coastline.

Napoleon’s armies ravaged the countryside.

She had the most ravishing features.

He ravished her with his eyes.

The conquering soldiers ravished most of the females in the city.

Ravished by a sunny afternoon, she had agreed without even thinking.

Derivatives:

Noun: ravagement, ravager

Noun: ravisher, ravishment

History of the Word:

Its first known use was circa 1611.

Early 17th century from the French ravager, from the earlier ravage and an alteration of ravine meaning rush of water.

Its first known use was in the 14th century.

Middle English from the Old French raviss-, a lengthened stem of ravir, from an alteration of the Latin rapere meaning seize or rob.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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