Adjacent Words

Ravish definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RAV'ISH, v.t. [L. rapio.]
1. To seize and carry away by violence.
These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin, will quicken and accuse thee.
This hand shall ravish thy pretended right.
2. To have carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her consent. Isaiah 13. Zechariah 14.
3. To bear away with joy or delight; to delight to ecstasy; to transport.
Thou hast ravished my heart. Proverbs 5.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: force (someone) to have sex against their will; "The woman was raped on her way home at night" [syn: rape, ravish, violate, assault, dishonor, dishonour, outrage]
2: hold spellbound [syn: enchant, enrapture, transport, enthrall, ravish, enthral, delight] [ant: disenchant, disillusion]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English ravisshen, from Anglo-French raviss-, stem of ravir, from Vulgar Latin *rapire, alteration of Latin rapere to seize, rob — more at rapid Date: 14th century 1. a. to seize and take away by violence b. to overcome with emotion (as joy or delight) <ravished by the scenic beauty> c. rape 2 2. plunder, rob • ravisher noun • ravishment noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 commit rape on (a woman). 2 enrapture; fill with delight. 3 archaic a carry off (a person or thing) by force. b (of death, circumstances, etc.) take from life or from sight. Derivatives: ravisher n. ravishment n. Etymology: ME f. OF ravir ult. f. L rapere seize

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ravish Rav"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ravished; p. pr. & vb. n. Ravishing.] [OE. ravissen, F. ravir, fr. L. rapere to snatch or tear away, to ravish. See Rapacious, Rapid, and -ish.] 1. To seize and carry away by violence; to snatch by force. These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin Will quicken, and accuse thee. --Shak. This hand shall ravish thy pretended right. --Dryden. 2. To transport with joy or delight; to delight to ecstasy. ``Ravished . . . for the joy.'' --Chaucer. Thou hast ravished my heart. --Cant. iv. 9. 3. To have carnal knowledge of (a woman) by force, and against her consent; to rape. --Shak. Syn: To transport; entrance; enrapture; delight; violate; deflour; force.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ravishes, ravishing, ravished) If a woman is ravished by a man, she is raped by him. (LITERARY) She'll never know how close she came to being dragged off and ravished. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Violate, deflour, constuprate, defile, abuse, debauch, force, outrage, commit rape upon. 2. Enchant, charm, captivate, delight, enrapture, transport, entrance, delight, overjoy. 3. Strip, seize, snatch by force.

Moby Thesaurus

abuse, adulterate, alloy, assault sexually, becharm, betray, bewitch, canker, captivate, carry away, charm, cheapen, coarsen, confound, contaminate, corrupt, debase, debauch, deceive, defile, deflorate, deflower, degenerate, degrade, delectate, delight, denature, deprave, depredate, desecrate, despoil, devalue, devirginate, distort, enchant, enrapture, enravish, enthrall, entrance, fascinate, fleece, forage, foray, force, freak out, freeboot, gut, imparadise, infect, knock dead, knock out, lead astray, loot, maraud, mislead, misuse, outrage, pervert, pillage, plunder, poison, pollute, possess sexually, prey on, prostitute, raid, ransack, rape, ravage, raven, reive, rifle, ruin, sack, seduce, send, slay, soil, spellbind, spoil, spoliate, sully, sweep, taint, take, thrill, tickle, tickle pink, titillate, trance, transport, twist, ulcerate, violate, vitiate, vulgarize, warp, wow