as in destruction
the act of destroying or damaging something deliberately so that it does not work correctly
Angry workers were responsible for the sabotage of the machines. Officials have not yet ruled out sabotage as a possible cause of the crash.
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1
as in to thwart
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2
as in to destroy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sabotage
Edward Segarra, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Cuba also maintains elite forces trained for counter-special-operations missions, guerrilla warfare, ambushes, sabotage and close protection of senior leaders.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 23 May 2026
Cuba accused Brothers to the Rescue members of repeatedly violating Cuban airspace to drop leaflets, and claimed the group had planned to sabotage Cuban infrastructure.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sabotage
Noun
In my opinion, Carl can self-sabotage by amplifying the scale, scope and landscape of what had been negotiated, accordingly placing himself and his counterparties at odds.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 28 May 2026
Cuba also maintains elite forces trained for counter-special-operations missions, guerrilla warfare, ambushes, sabotage and close protection of senior leaders.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026
Verb
There was no immediate sign that the former prime minister planned to mount a campaign to sabotage Faye’s presidency.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 23 May 2026
Cuba accused Brothers to the Rescue members of repeatedly violating Cuban airspace to drop leaflets, and claimed the group had planned to sabotage Cuban infrastructure.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sabotage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sabotage
Noun
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She was arrested at a hotel near the barn and booked at the Clark County Juvenile Hall on 12 counts of animal cruelty, including intentionally aiming or torturing a horse, as well as three counts of malicious destruction of property.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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The teen, who was at a nearby hotel, was taken into custody and booked for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal -- horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Toward the end of the season, Deborah’s grand MSG show is thwarted by her nemesis Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn) who bought out all the tickets to the show, leaving her with an empty stadium.—
Alexandra Jhamb Burns,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
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But the administration says the status quo allows rank-and-file federal employees to thwart the president's agenda.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Fueled by large stocks of critically dry vegetation and extreme winds, the fires killed 31 people, destroyed nearly 12,000 homes, and forced over 150,000 evacuations.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
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But satellite images reviewed by CNN show how Iran has used simple equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks to counter those costly campaigns — suggesting that Tehran’s missile capabilities can’t be destroyed just by targeting tunnel entrances, experts said.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
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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Part of what fascinates and frustrates as regards Ginsberg is that for all of those thick anthologies, propriety forces me to concede that many of the poems simply aren’t that good.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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Some voters frustrated by gubernatorial race Tuesday was shaping up to be a busy day at the polls inside the brown brick Coloma Community Center.—
Camryn Dadey,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Our house, ruined by the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, was rebuilt from the foundation up.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Undefeated this season on clay, the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Navier’s flagship, the N30, is a 30-foot electric foiling yacht that can carry up to eight passengers and a driver.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
2 June 2026
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All three F50s were not locked together as the other nine boats foiled away down the race track.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Those teams already are wrecking the owners’ claims that baseball lacks competitive balance.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Junk yards and auto wrecking services will soon be paying $354 instead of $273 for their new license, and secondhand dealers will see reduced fees — paying $354 instead of $480.—
Julie Gallant,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sabotage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sabotage. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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