DEMOLISH Synonyms: 180 Similar and Opposite Words

demolish

verb

di-ˈmä-lish

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

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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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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of demolish An $8,000 Ryvid Anthem or a $10,000 Maeving RM1S will deliver broadly similar urban usability, while the $12,500 Zero FXE absolutely demolishes it on power-per-dollar. —

Utkarsh Sood june 12, New Atlas, 12 June 2026 Its building was then demolished. —

Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 12 June 2026 For her trouble, she was demolished in the general election by Jerry Brown, 54-41. —

Garry South, Mercury News, 11 June 2026 Residents numbering in the hundreds have fought against plans to demolish their homes and argue Gaudí never intended the avenue and staircase to reach beyond the basilica’s current footprint. —

Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for demolish

Recent Examples of Synonyms for demolish

Verb

In July 1936, anarchists set fire to the church’s crypt and broke into the architect’s workshop before destroying many of his plans and plaster models.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 8 June 2026
The Russian president, who has never acknowledged that Ukraine is a legitimate country, or that Zelensky is its legitimate president, could continue to bomb Ukrainian cities, hoping to destroy the electrical grid and make the country unlivable.

— Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026