ravish

  • 1Ravish — Rav ish (r[a^]v [i^]sh), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ravished} ( [i^]sht); p. pr. & vb. n. {Ravishing}.] [OE. ravissen, F. ravir, fr. L. rapere to snatch or tear away, to ravish. See {Rapacious}, {Rapid}, and { ish}.] 1. To seize and carry away by… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2ravish — rav·ish / ra vish/ vt [Middle English, to seize and take away by violence, from Middle French raviss , stem of ravir, ultimately from Latin rapere to seize, rob]: rape rav·ish·ment n Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …

    Law dictionary

  • 3ravish — [v1] enchant allure, attract, bewitch, captivate, charm, delight, draw, enrapture, enthrall, entrance, fascinate, hold, hypnotize, magnetize, mesmerize, overjoy, please, spellbind, trance, transport; concept 11 Ant. disenchant, repulse, turn off… …

    New thesaurus

  • 4ravish — (v.) c.1300, to seize (someone) by violence, carry (a person, especially a woman) away, from O.Fr. raviss , prp. stem of ravir to seize, take away hastily, from V.L. *rapire, from L. rapere to seize, hurry away (see RAPID (Cf. rapid)). Meaning to …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 5ravish — *transport, enrapture, entrance Analogous words: rejoice, delight, regale (see PLEASE) …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 6ravish — ► VERB archaic or literary 1) seize and carry off by force. 2) rape. 3) fill with intense delight; enrapture. ORIGIN Old French ravir, from Latin rapere seize …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7ravish — [rav′ish] vt. [ME ravishen < inflectional stem of OFr ravir, to carry away < VL * rapire, for L rapere, to seize: see RAPE1] 1. to seize and carry away forcibly 2. to rape (a woman) 3. to transport with joy or delight; enrapture ravisher n …

    English World dictionary

  • 8ravish — UK [ˈrævɪʃ] / US verb [transitive] Word forms ravish : present tense I/you/we/they ravish he/she/it ravishes present participle ravishing past tense ravished past participle ravished mainly literary to rape a woman (= force her to have sex) …

    English dictionary

  • 9ravish — verb /ˈɹa.vɪʃ/ a) To seize and carry away by violence; to snatch by force. For loe that Guest would beare her forcibly, / And meant to ravish her, that rather had to dy. b) To transport with joy or delight; to delight to ec …

    Wiktionary

  • 10ravish —    to copulate with a woman against her will    Originally, to seize or carry off anything:     The ravish d Helen, Menelaus wife,    With wanton Paris sleeps. (Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida)    and in more modern use:     I don t know why,… …

    How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms