When do I use "Ravage" and when do I use "Ravish"?

"Ravage" = to destroy, devastate, lay waste. "Ravish" = to fill with ecstasy or delight (modern English: transported by beauty).

What is the most common mistake with "Ravage" and "Ravish"?

"She was ravaged by the music" when meaning deeply moved is wrong: "ravage" means to destroy or devastate. To say she was filled with ecstasy, use "ravished": "She was ravished by the music." The reverse: "the hurricane ravished the city" when meaning devastated is wrong, use "ravaged."

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Which one to use?Advancedverbo / sustantivoverbo

RavagevsRavish

"Ravage" = to destroy, devastate, or lay waste; "ravish" = to fill with delight or ecstasy (or in archaic use, to abduct or assault).

Side-by-side comparison

Ravage

verbo / sustantivo

"Ravage" means to devastate or cause massive destruction. A storm, a war, or a disease can "ravage" a region.

The earthquake ravaged the historic downtown, leaving centuries-old buildings in ruins.
The ravages of the epidemic were most visible in the youngest and oldest members of the population.
Her face showed the ravages of a difficult life spent outdoors in harsh conditions.

Ravish

verbo

"Ravish" has two meanings: to seize or carry off with force (old literary use), or to delight and enchant someone deeply (modern formal use).

She stood before the Sistine Chapel completely ravished, no photograph had prepared her for the actual experience.
The audience was ravished by the soprano's final aria, the applause lasted nearly ten minutes.
He was ravished by the poetry, each line seemed to reach something he had never been able to express himself.

Common mistake

•"She was ravaged by the music" when meaning deeply moved is wrong: "ravage" means to destroy or devastate.
•To say she was filled with ecstasy, use "ravished": "She was ravished by the music." The reverse: "the hurricane ravished the city" when meaning devastated is wrong, use "ravaged."

Trick to remember it

RAVAGE = sounds like "raving rage", destructive fury that lays waste. RAVISH = sounds like "ravishing" (strikingly beautiful), beauty fills you with ecstasy. Destruction = raVAGE. Ecstasy = raVISH.

Quick rule

•"Ravage" = to destroy, devastate, lay waste.
•"Ravish" = to fill with ecstasy or delight (modern English: transported by beauty).

Did you know?

"Ravishing" (the adjectival form of RAVISH) is today one of English's most elegant words for extraordinary beauty: "You look ravishing" = you look strikingly, overwhelmingly beautiful. The word has evolved from a darker sense (in Old and Medieval English, "to ravish" could mean "to carry off by force") to the modern meaning of delight and ecstasy. This semantic evolution, from violent to sublime, is one of the most striking examples of how words change connotation over centuries. Today "ravishing" is almost exclusively positive and widely used in fashion, art, and performance contexts.