scorched earth
Total denial tactic
Scorched earth is a military strategy of destroying anything useful to an advancing enemy—crops, buildings, infrastructure—rather than letting it be captured.
The term comes from the literal burning of fields.
It extends to any destructive tactic that leaves nothing behind: The departing CEO took a scorched-earth approach, firing loyal staff and canceling projects.
Planned approach to goals
- retreatSanctuary or withdrawal
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- withdrawalAct of taking away
- tacticalStrategically planned
defensive · offensive · campaign · invasion · advance · occupation · Sherman · Napoleon
Punitive international restrictions
- embargoOfficial prohibition on trade
- containmentPreventing hostile expansion
- blockadeSealing off a place
- boycottOrganized economic protest
divestment · tariffs · economic pressure · asset freeze · trade war · retaliation · hardball · aggressive
Bleak and abandoned
- wastelandUninhabitable barren region
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- destructionAct of completely ruining
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
charred · blackened · lifeless · inhospitable · bleak · ravaged · razed · annihilated
Combustion in progress
- torchingSetting fire to
- razingComplete structural demolition
- incendiaryCausing or designed for burning
- napalmFlammable gel for bombs
firebombing · arson · conflagration · inferno · immolation · blaze · flamethrower · firestorm
strategy
Planned approach to goals
- retreatSanctuary or withdrawal
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- withdrawalAct of taking away
tactical · defensive · offensive · campaign · invasion · advance · occupation · Sherman · Napoleon · Wehrmacht
sanctions
Punitive international restrictions
- embargoOfficial prohibition on trade
- containmentPreventing hostile expansion
- blockadeSealing off a place
boycott · divestment · tariffs · economic pressure · asset freeze · trade war · retaliation · hardball · aggressive · uncompromising
desolate
Bleak and abandoned
- wastelandUninhabitable barren region
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- destructionAct of completely ruining
ruins · charred · blackened · lifeless · inhospitable · bleak · ravaged · razed · annihilated · obliterated
burning
Combustion in progress
- torchingSetting fire to
- razingComplete structural demolition
- incendiaryCausing or designed for burning
napalm · firebombing · arson · conflagration · inferno · immolation · blaze · flamethrower · firestorm · incineration
- wildfire aftermathdebris, embers, rubble, smoke damage, smoldering
- strategystrategy, grand strategy, tactics, tactic, tactical
- wartimerationing, war economy, war bonds, war effort, evacuations
- burntburnt toast, burnt rubber, burnt smell, burnt taste, charred
- destructiondestruction, destroying, demolishing, devastation, ruination
- fire idiomsplay with fire, fight fire with fire, fan the flames, add fuel to fire, on fire
scorched earthhearts and minds
Emotional and intellectual commitment
liberation · surgical strike · peacekeeping · nation-building · annexation
scorched earthconservation
Preventing waste or loss
preservation · cultivation · restoration · regeneration · fertile ground
scorched earthsurgical strike
Targeted operation minimizing damage
precision bombing · pinpoint accuracy · limited engagement · proportional response
earth, scorch, unearth, scorching, scorched, earthly, unearthly, earthen, earthwork