pillage
n. uncountablen. the act of stealing or destroying things from a place, especially during a war or a riot. It usually involves taking goods by force.
n. the act of plundering or looting a place, typically during a military invasion or civil unrest. Often implies the systematic seizure of property by force.
The city suffered from years of pillage and destruction.
Historians documented the pillage of the royal treasury during the revolution, noting that many priceless artifacts were lost forever.
The treaty was intended to prevent the pillage of civilian assets, yet the subsequent occupation saw widespread looting of local businesses and homes.
From Old French pillage, from piller (“plunder”), from an unattested meaning of Late Latin piliō, probably a figurative use of Latin pilō (“I remove (hair)”), from pilus (“hair”).