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Plunder vs Lay_waste - What's the difference?

plunder | lay_waste | Related terms |

Plunder is a related term of lay_waste.


As verbs the difference between plunder and lay_waste

is that plunder is while lay_waste is to completely destroy, especially of a geographical area or region.

plunder

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • To pillage, take or destroy all the goods of, by force (as in war); to raid, sack.
    • ''The mercenaries plundered the small town.
    The shopkeeper was plundered of his possessions by the burglar.
  • To take (goods) by pillage.
    • The mercenaries plundered all the goods they found.
  • To take by force or wrongfully; to commit robbery or looting, to raid.
    • ''"Now to plunder , mateys!" screamed a buccaneer, to cries of "Arrgh!" and "Aye!" all around.
  • To make extensive (over)use of, as if by plundering; to use or use up wrongfully.
    • ''The miners plundered the jungle for its diamonds till it became a muddy waste.
  • * 2014 , , " Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian , 18 October 2014:
    • The Serb teed up Steve Davis, who crossed low for Graziano Pellè to plunder his fifth league goal of the campaign.

    Derived terms

    * plunderable * plunderage * plunderer * plunderous

    Noun

    (-)
  • An instance of plundering
  • The loot attained by plundering
    • ''The Hessian kept his choicest plunder in a sack that never left his person, for fear that his comrades would steal it.
  • (slang, dated) baggage; luggage

    • lay_waste

    English

    Verb

  • To completely destroy, especially of a geographical area or region.
  • * 1990 , (Peter Hopkirk), The Great Game , Folio Society 2010, p. 16:
    • Thirsting for revenge, his troops stormed the fortress of Kazan on the upper Volga in 1553, slaughtering the defenders just as the Mongols had done when they laid waste Russia's great cities.

    Usage notes

    Sometimes takes "to" instead of being simply transitive. Thus, "...they laid waste to Russia's great cities" would be an acceptable alternative to the quote above.