noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/spəʊliˈeɪʃn̩/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/spoʊliˈeɪʃən/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪʃən
1
noun
Meaning 1
The action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; pillage, plunder; also, the state of having property forcibly seized; (countable) an instance of this; a robbery, a seizure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
The intentional destruction of, or tampering with, a document so as to impair its evidentiary value.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
The systematic forcible seizure of property during a crisis or state of unrest such as that caused by war, now regarded as a crime; looting, pillage, plunder; (countable) an instance of this.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, uncountable
Qualifier: international law
Topics: law
Examples
Spoliation of Jewish property by Nazi authorities occurred on a large scale during World War II.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
The government-sanctioned action or practice of plundering neutral ships at sea; (countable) an instance of this.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, historical, uncountable
Topics: law, nautical, transport
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
the act of stripping and taking by force
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
(law) the intentional destruction of a document or an alteration of it that destroys its value as evidence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: destruction, devastation
History
Etymology
From Late Middle English spoliacioun (“looting, robbery, theft; an instance of this; (ecclesiastical) wrongful deprivation of the emoluments of a benefice due to another”), from Anglo-Norman spoliacioun, espolïacion, and directly from their etymon spoliātiō (“plundering, robbing”), from spoliāre (“to deprive or strip of clothing or covering, unclothe, uncover; (by extension) to pillage, plunder; etc.”), from spolium (“hide or skin stripped off an animal; (by extension) booty, spoil; etc.”). The English word was probably also influenced by French spoliation.
Across languages
Translations
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
ограбване
(ograbvane)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Dutch:
plundering
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Finnish:
ryöstö
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Finnish:
ryöväys
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Italian:
spoliazione
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Latin:
spoliātiō
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Middle English:
spoliacioun
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Persian:
تاراج
(târâj)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Persian:
یغما
(yaġmâ)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Portuguese:
espoliação
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Romanian:
spoliație
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Romanian:
spoliere
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Spanish:
expoliación
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Spanish:
despojo
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Ottoman Turkish:
چاپول
(çapul)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Ottoman Turkish:
صویغون
(soygun)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Ottoman Turkish:
تالان
(talan)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Ottoman Turkish:
تاراج
(tarac)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
Ottoman Turkish:
یغما
(yağma)
— (uncountable) action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; state of having property forcibly seized — see also pillage, plunder
French:
spoliation
— (uncountable) action of destroying or ruining (cognates) — see also destruction, ruin
Finnish:
korvausten riisto
— (uncountable) action of an incumbent wrongfully depriving another of the emoluments of a benefice
Middle English:
spoliacioun
— (uncountable) action of an incumbent wrongfully depriving another of the emoluments of a benefice
Finnish:
kanne korvausten riistosta
— (countable) lawsuit brought or writ issued by an incumbent against another, claiming that the latter has wrongfully taken the emoluments of a benefice
Dutch:
bewijsvernietiging
— (uncountable) intentional destruction of, or tampering with, a document so as to impair its evidentiary value
Finnish:
tuhoaminen
— (uncountable) intentional destruction of, or tampering with, a document so as to impair its evidentiary value
Finnish:
väärentäminen
— (uncountable) intentional destruction of, or tampering with, a document so as to impair its evidentiary value
German:
Beweisvereitelung
— (uncountable) intentional destruction of, or tampering with, a document so as to impair its evidentiary value
Bulgarian:
плячкосване
(pljačkosvane)
— (uncountable) government-sanctioned action or practice of plundering neutral ships at sea
Dutch:
vrijbuiterij
— (uncountable) government-sanctioned action or practice of plundering neutral ships at sea
Finnish:
puolueettomien alusten ryöstö
— (uncountable) government-sanctioned action or practice of plundering neutral ships at sea
