ravish

And hey, did you know that the word “raptor”—which is often used to describe birds of prey—comes from the Latin verb rapio, which means to plunder, rob, ravish, or abduct?

From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026

“It’s going to completely ravish natural stands,” said Jenny Kimball, a professor of agronomy and plant genetics at the University of Minnesota.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022

Le Mans ’66 was never merely a matter of speed and pride; it was also, in retrospect, a contest to ravish the eye.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 8, 2019

This is a movie that tries to ravish your senses so thoroughly you may not notice its sleights of hand.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2016

These days we’re more likely to use ravish in the emotional than in the violent sense.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

The most glowing review - a five-star write-up in the Telegraph - said Holland "ravishes" and "mesmerises" as Romeo.

From BBC ● May 24, 2024

“Adriana” examines the way war ravishes love and the sacrifices required to maintain equanimity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

Virgin Islands for years redirected money intended to help pay insurance claims after large disasters for other needs, raising the vulnerability of residents as Hurricane Irma ravishes the territory.

From Reuters ● Sep. 6, 2017

Countless have already raved about “Carol” as the latest installment of Todd Haynes’ sumptuous revisionist cinema, for good reason: The film flat-out ravishes with pathos—it is moving but not mopey, dreamy while never soporific.

From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2015

Her very name, with mine joined to it, ravishes my soul, and is more delightful to me than the sweetest music.

From Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady — Volume 9 by Samuel Richardson

Using a 1939 newspaper account, Moses pictured an 1862 fire that ravished the city in upstate New York.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

"It has been a month now since I haven't eaten or slept properly. Look at me, I am young, only 32, why should I be so ravished and depressed?" she cried.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026

With the Chargers ravished by injuries and the Houston Texans struggling on offense, the matchup could provide some betting challenges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2022

Readers ravished by “The Overstory” may come away discouraged by the bleakness and sadness of “Bewilderment.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2021

And Tessie was a cobra, mesmerized, tamed, ravished by the sound.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

And just like she promises in my summer staple, Bonnie Tyler’s huge choruses and blockbuster anthems will be ravishing us until the end of this endless night.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

And then there is his voice — perhaps at its most ravishing on “Take Care of Yourself,” a ballad from his 2011 album “Bella” — at once fierce and tender, colored by longing and loss.

From Salon ● May 15, 2026

Our critic called it “instructive, ravishing and thorough.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025

This summer he was a luminary of the prestigious Salzburg Festival and Saturday conducted the world premiere of his ravishing Horn Concerto at the Lucerne Festival that was broadcast on a Swiss radio station.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025

Isn’t there a kind of ravishing delight in the chase of it?

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr