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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
Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 8 May 2025
His and several university officials had their homes vandalized.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 May 2025
Musk’s Tesla car dealerships have been targeted by activists who’ve vandalized cars and buildings with paint and lit some vehicles on fire.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2025
The first step toward restoring a Kobe and Gianna Bryant mural that was tagged in downtown Los Angeles has already begun, less than a day after news broke that the artwork had been vandalized.
—Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 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 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vandalize
verb
Legal Definition
vandalize
transitive verb
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