1
as in to destroy
to destroy (as a building) completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces
developers demolished the old warehouse to make room for the new shopping mall
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to ruin
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
most of the buildings in the town had been demolished in the bombing raid
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3
as in to shatter
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive
terrorists used a powerful pipe bomb to demolish the concrete wall around the compound
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demolish
The second was to demolish the building and build entirely anew.
—
Thomas Gounley, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
The former Sherman Drive-In demolished in 1983 is currently overrun with weeds and bordered by a chain link fence.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 25 Sep. 2025
The concrete steps and ramp will be demolished, but the building's exterior facade will remain.
—La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Part of the structure was demolished in 1989, but its white bell tower continued to mark the skyline even while the rest sat fenced off.
—Jackie Bryant, AFAR Media, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demolish
Thomas Gounley, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025
The former Sherman Drive-In demolished in 1983 is currently overrun with weeds and bordered by a chain link fence.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 25 Sep. 2025
The concrete steps and ramp will be demolished, but the building's exterior facade will remain.
—La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Part of the structure was demolished in 1989, but its white bell tower continued to mark the skyline even while the rest sat fenced off.
—Jackie Bryant, AFAR Media, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demolish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demolish
Verb
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Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a five-floor apartment building in the Solomyanskyi district was partially destroyed and caught fire.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
28 Sep. 2025
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Mexico built a hydroelectric dam, where these golden barrel cactuses live and in an instant their environment was destroyed and this species was almost wiped out.—
Eyder Peralta,
NPR,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
30 Sep. 2025
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The jerky in particular has ruined me for all other beef jerky—so be forewarned the same might happen to you.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Finally, impact strength assesses a material’s ability to absorb sudden shocks without shattering, highlighting that the hardness alone doesn’t always mean toughness.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Sep. 2025
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Any sense of safety that once existed in the Qatari capital – a longtime haven for Hamas officials, with the tacit agreement of the US and Israel – has now been shattered.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Salvation Army, which owns two of the buildings, previously wanted to raze the smaller one, known as the Yellow Cab building, to make way for the shelter.—
La Risa R. Lynch,
jsonline.com,
23 Sep. 2025
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The Alphabets, so thoroughly razed, seems uniquely vulnerable to wholesale reënvisioning.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Her journey has brought her to Cloonboo, a town devastated by the Great Famine that ravaged the land between 1845 and 1852.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
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Related Stories Fans were devastated to hear that Cavill was not going to continue with the series.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At least four people were killed and eight injured when a gunman in a pickup truck smashed through the doors of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan during a Sunday service attended by hundreds, opened fire and set the building ablaze.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
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During a two-point conversion play, Jennings caught the ball in the endzone, but was smashed between two Jaguars defenders.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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America will be watching Monday night’s early game, perhaps in much the same way traffic can’t help but slow to watch two cars that have just wrecked.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
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The crash marks the second time a vehicle wrecked into a dentist’s office in the Kansas City metro this week.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kansas football blew a fourth-quarter lead and lost to Cincinnati on Saturday.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
28 Sep. 2025
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After blowing a golden opportunity against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, the Ravens blew out the Cleveland Browns but then coughed up another statement-win opportunity against the Detroit Lions last week.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demolish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demolish. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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