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At one point in Frodo’s journey in The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien depicts an ancient statue overlooking a crossroads: “Its head was gone, and in its place was set in mockery a round rough-hewn stone, rudely painted … in the likeness of a grinning face with one large red eye in the midst of its forehead.” The statue had been vandalized by orcs, but the roots of vandalize have more in common with the name of a Tolkien hero. Vandalize comes from the noun vandal, which was originally capitalized and referred to a member of a Germanic people who lived south of the Baltic Sea and sacked Rome in the year 455 CE. This sacking is what likely led to the use of the lower-case vandal for someone who damages or destroys property. The Late Latin word for such a Vandal was Vandalī, a word probably borrowed from a Germanic verb meaning “wend, turn” that also gave rise to the Old English Ēarendel, the name of a mythological figure that inspired Tolkien’s creation of Eärendil, a mariner who wends his way across the sky of Middle Earth carrying the morning star.
Examples of vandalize in a Sentence
Chris Massaro, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2025
Occasionally, someone would climb onto the roof from an adjoining building and steal or vandalize them.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 23 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump has warned that anyone found vandalizing Tesla vehicles could face lengthy prison sentences.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
Tesla electric vehicles and facilities have been vandalized across the U.S., as have Superchargers.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vandalize
Cite this Entry
“Vandalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vandalize. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vandalize
verb
Legal Definition
vandalize
transitive verb
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