as in wrecking
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1
as in destroying
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 ruining
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 shattering
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 demolishing
Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 28 Aug. 2025
Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Israel’s defense minister said the military would accelerate demolishing homes along the southern Lebanese border and destroy all bridges over the Litani River.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026
The 39-year-old photographer from Beirut captured a stunning sequence of images in the early hours of Wednesday, showing an IDF missile demolishing a tower block in one fell swoop.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
The emails contain no detailed exchanges about arena negotiations, no plans tying a new venue to the City Hall site and no evidence of internal talks about demolishing the building for that purpose.
—Dallas Morning News, 18 Mar. 2026
Crews began demolishing Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday to make way for a memorial that will pay tribute to the 49 people killed in the attack at the LGBTQ-friendly club nearly a decade ago.
—Safiyah Riddle, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Plans call for demolishing the existing welcome center, which currently has a Foxtail Coffee and Kelly’s Ice Cream counter, shifting the new building closer to Lake Rowena, and altering its shape.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2026
Within a few days of this torment, the families began the excruciating business of demolishing their houses.
—Dahlia Krutkovich, The New York Review of Books, 14 Mar. 2026
Simply demolishing it would cost a tiny fraction of that.
—Jason Rantala, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
Noun
In the filing, Omni Hotels outlined a five-year timeframe that would get the site fully designed, permitted and prepared for construction, noting construction would not start until at least five years after the demolishing of the buildings on site.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
But the grumblings about demolishing the library building have lately become a roaring debate.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Israel’s defense minister said the military would accelerate demolishing homes along the southern Lebanese border and destroy all bridges over the Litani River.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026
The 39-year-old photographer from Beirut captured a stunning sequence of images in the early hours of Wednesday, showing an IDF missile demolishing a tower block in one fell swoop.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
The emails contain no detailed exchanges about arena negotiations, no plans tying a new venue to the City Hall site and no evidence of internal talks about demolishing the building for that purpose.
—Dallas Morning News, 18 Mar. 2026
Crews began demolishing Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday to make way for a memorial that will pay tribute to the 49 people killed in the attack at the LGBTQ-friendly club nearly a decade ago.
—Safiyah Riddle, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Plans call for demolishing the existing welcome center, which currently has a Foxtail Coffee and Kelly’s Ice Cream counter, shifting the new building closer to Lake Rowena, and altering its shape.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2026
Within a few days of this torment, the families began the excruciating business of demolishing their houses.
—Dahlia Krutkovich, The New York Review of Books, 14 Mar. 2026
Simply demolishing it would cost a tiny fraction of that.
—Jason Rantala, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demolishing
Noun
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At least, there was a lot less wrecking.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Ravens haven’t really had that game-wrecking pass rusher since Terrell Suggs was in his prime.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Pentagon has generally lumped it into the first objective of destroying Iran’s missile capability.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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But there may be an answer, or at least a compromise that will satisfy those unhappy with the idea of destroying a usable building.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Accused of ruining baseball with their big-spending ways the past two years, the noise has only gotten louder as a labor showdown looms.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
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To figure out its mechanism, Julius’s team had to somehow extract it from cells without ruining the very properties the researchers were trying to understand.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Martha had a confidence-shattering experience with her previous boyfriend.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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Atlanta Police Department During the incident, a stray bullet struck an Atlanta Public Schools bus, shattering one of its windows.—
CBS News Atlanta Staff,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Sacramento County Parks Department says there's been a big increase in vandalism and destruction of the nature preserve due to unauthorized use of off-road bicycles and e-bikes.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
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After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At the core of the MAGA project and Trumpism is disruption and destruction, the delegitimization and razing of institutions, and the brutalization of opponents.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
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Instead of razing buildings, Robinson wants to repurpose buildings that were significant to the Black community, including Theodore Roosevelt High School.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of the men is seen on surveillance video smashing the front door with a metal object and connecting the ATM to the vehicle using a metal cable.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
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Particle accelerators like the LHC typically work by firing beams of particles at nearly the speed of light and smashing them together.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Field of 68 pointed out that each of Duke's last four NCAA Tournament losses came by blowing a double-digit lead.—
Megan Armstrong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demolishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demolishing. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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