Meaning & use
plundered
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“plundered” is a form of “plunder”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Past tense of plunder: stole valuable goods from a place by force, especially during a war or a raid.
Grammar: Takes an object: raiders plundered the town.
Patterns
- plundered something
- plundered something of something
The invaders plundered the city and carried off its treasures.
Pirates plundered merchant ships along the coast.
Soldiers plundered the abandoned farms for food.
verbtransitivefigurative
Took a place's wealth or resources dishonestly or greedily, as when an official empties public funds.
Grammar: Takes an object, often abstract: plundered the treasury.
Patterns
- plundered the resources of something
Corrupt officials plundered the treasury for years.
The company plundered the forest of its best timber.
Tomb robbers plundered the ancient graves.
adjectivebefore a noun
Robbed of valuables by force; stripped of its contents.
Grammar: Appears before a noun: a plundered village.
Patterns
- a plundered village
The plundered village lay silent after the raid.
They found the plundered tomb empty.
The plundered museum was slowly restored.
Word forms
| base form | plunder |
|---|---|
| third person singular | plunders |
| -ing form | plundering |
Common combinations
- plundered the city
- The army plundered the city for three days.
- plundered the treasury
- The king plundered the treasury to fund his wars.
- plundered tombs
- Plundered tombs have yielded few artifacts.
- plundered the village
- Bandits plundered the village at night.
- plundered of its wealth
- The land was plundered of its wealth.
- plundered for decades
- The reef was plundered for decades by illegal fishing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- looted
- Looted is more common for theft during chaos such as riots, while plundered suggests organized robbery in war.
- pillaged
- Pillaged stresses violent destruction along with the theft, much like plundered but more vivid.
- ransacked
- Ransacked focuses on searching and wrecking a place, not necessarily carrying off the loot.
- raided
- Raided means attacked suddenly and need not involve stealing a great deal.
Opposites
Word family
- plunder verb
- to steal goods by force
- plunder noun
- goods taken by force, or the act of taking them
- plunderer noun
- a person who plunders
- plundering noun
- the act of stealing by force
Commonly confused: plundered or plunged? plundered or pillaged?
plundered vs plunged
Plunged means dived or dropped suddenly and is unrelated to theft.
plundered vs pillaged
Pillaged is close but stresses destruction as well as taking.
Practice
The raiders ____ the abandoned monastery and carried away its silver.
Choose one answer.
Plundered means robbed by force. Plunged means dived suddenly, a tempting but different word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plundered”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.