Other forms: ravaged, ravages, ravaging
To ravage is to sweep through and destroy. Ravaged by fire, war ravaged the country, ravages of time.
It implies thoroughness and speed together, which is why it suits fire, disease and war. The ravages of time is the fixed phrase for slow damage, which is the one exception to the speed. Note ravaged as an adjective, used of faces as well as places; and that ravage and ravish are the same French word about seizing, which is why one is so much worse than the other.
1verbravageTo sweep through and destroy.
“Wildfires ravaged the forests of the region last summer.”
2noundamageThe damage caused, usually in the plural.
“Her face showed the ravages of years of hard work in the sun.”
ravage is a destroying.
Also accepted in games: devastate
French ravage comes from ravir, to seize suddenly, from Latin rapere, to snatch. Rapid, rapture and ravish come from the same seizing.
Ancient Greek
ἁρπάζω — to seize
Latin
rapere — to snatch, seize
French
ravage — ravage, havoc, spoil
English, today
ravage
Built from
From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (“to seize”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA