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dévaliser

rob, clean out

verb deh-vah-lee-ZEH Rare

Origin: from 'dé-' (un-) + 'valise' (suitcase) — to empty one's luggage, to strip bare

Usage Note

Dévaliser means to rob someone of all their belongings or to strip a place bare: dévaliser un magasin can mean both to shoplift heavily and, humorously, to buy everything in a shop. The etymology from valise (suitcase) makes it vivid — to empty someone's bags entirely. It is more colloquial than voler or dépouiller.

Examples

"Des voleurs ont dévalisé la boutique."

Natural Translation

Thieves cleaned out the shop.

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