From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdepredationdep‧re‧da‧tion /ˌdeprəˈdeɪʃən/ noun [countable usually plural] formal BAD BEHAVIOUR OR ACTIONSan act of taking or destroying something
Examples from the Corpus
depredation• He will not change and if permitted will repeat the same challenges and depredations in his neighborhood.• Hayes, however, took no action to end depredations against blacks who wanted to vote.• So, despite the great depredations of the slave trade, there was demographic growth.• They loot and impose depredations on the countries where they operate.• Obviously no species could withstand such depredations for long, although the present losses of habitat may be considered even more serious.• Settled land in Roman law was to a considerable degree free from the depredations of creditors.• The deeper problems in the art market have to do with the depredations of the auction houses.• the depredations of war• The deer had become very numerous by this time in the New Forest, and there were numerous complaints about their depredations.Origin depredation (1400-1500) French déprédation, from Latin depraedari “to steal and destroy” 