Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To force (another) to have sexual intercourse; rape.
- transitive verb To overwhelm with emotion; enrapture.
- transitive verb Archaic To seize and carry away by force.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Ravishment; ecstasy; a transport or rapture.
- To seize and carry off; transport or take away forcibly; snatch away.
- To transport mentally; enrapture; bring into a state of ecstasy, as of delight or fear.
- To deprive by seizure; dispossess violently: with of.
- To violate the chastity of; commit rape upon; deflower.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To seize and carry away by violence; to snatch by force.
- transitive verb To transport with joy or delight; to delight to ecstasy.
- transitive verb To have carnal knowledge of (a woman) by force, and against her consent; to rape.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
seize andcarry away byviolence ; tosnatch by force. - verb transitive, usually passive To
transport with joy or delight; todelight to ecstasy. - verb transitive To
rape .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb force (someone) to have sex against their will
- verb hold spellbound
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Encapsulated in the root of the word "ravish" is an etymological range of emotional approximations from rapacious to rape, from rapt to rapture--and a word with that sort of seed and yield reveals how intrinsically complex Donne saw his relationship to God.
Great Regulars: Consider, for instance, the word [John] Donne Rus Bowden 2009
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Despite the name (which, salads apart, spell-check always wants to change to "ravish"), it is a good site: quiet, unfussy, well organised and functional (though as so new, many functions are still under development).
May 2007 Maxine 2007
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Encapsulated in the root of the word "ravish" is an etymological range of emotional approximations from rapacious to rape, from rapt to rapture--and a word with that sort of seed and yield reveals how intrinsically complex Donne saw his relationship to God.
Archive 2009-12-01 Rus Bowden 2009
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The comparison is grounded on the double meaning of the word "ravish" for it signifies the act of rape as well as the act of violently seizing and carrying away someone or something.
The State of Things: Olaudah Equiano and the Volatile Politics of Heterocosmic Desire 2006
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Did you know the original meaning of "ravish" is rape too?
"I'm going back to my cottage to rape my wife." Ann Althouse 2005
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xbrl, there's a fine line between 'ravish' fantasies and 'rape' fantasies.
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The function of Chivaric politeness and gallantry in todays world reassures women that the gallant chivalrous male is likely not going to beat or ravish them.
Tom McIntyre Explains His Picks for our 2009 Hunting and Fishing Heroes and Villians Face-Off 2009
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Your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness for ever.
Chapter 20 2010
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And then they both ravish each other in the woods, right?
Branded By Fire Copy Edits Nalini Singh 2009
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That's my kind of wine note, though my thought was—leave the table upright and ravish someone on top of it.
The 1996 Champagnes: Great, but Just How Great? Jay McInerney 2011
Prolagus commented on the word ravish
Not to be confused with radish.
June 18, 2008
asativum commented on the word ravish
Nor peevish.
June 18, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word ravish
"Her looks were ravishing, but when it came to ravishing, looks weren't enough."
- my best friend used to say that, I wonder where he got it from!
Maybe I'll just say
- Louis Zukofsky and leave it at that. He seems to have supplied quite a lot of shite here.
June 20, 2008