Synonyms of demolish

demolish

verb

di-ˈmä-lish 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• raze
• smash
• ruin
• tear down
• unbuild
• pull down
• wreck
• overturn
• finish
• dynamite
• obliterate
• level
• flatten
• eradicate
• ravage
• abolish
• decimate
• annihilate
• devastate
• pulverize
• extirpate
• wipe out
• devour
• waste
• dissolve
• unmake
• blow up
• crush
• total
• scourge
• do in
• crack up
• dash

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• erect
• raise
• put up
• restore
• rebuild
• renew
• create
• make
• renovate
• form
• manufacture
• shape
• forge
• fabricate
• fashion

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroy
• ruin
• shatter
• devastate
• wreck
• smash
• overcome
• raze
• damage
• annihilate
• extinguish
• decimate
• pulverize
• waste
• erode
• vaporize
• dismantle
• desolate
• ravage
• cream
• tear down
• kill
• pull down
• mar
• total
• remove
• cripple
• rub out
• crush
• nuke
• defeat
• do in
• injure
• subdue
• break
• conquer
• wrack
• best
• disintegrate
• blast
• dissolve
• lick
• spoil
• impair
• eradicate
• mutilate
• obliterate
• deteriorate
• prevail (over)
• master
• surmount
• disfigure
• trim
• win (against)
• deface
• harm
• triumph (over)
• rout
• whip
• dynamite
• exterminate
• wear (away)
• vitiate
• undo
• mangle
• sweep (away)
• trounce
• assassinate
• thrash
• expunge
• beat
• liquidate
• disassemble
• clobber
• scour
• scotch
• extirpate
• blow up
• unmake
• slaughter
• execute
• wipe out
• wash out
• overbear
• slay
• sack
• efface
• plunder
• despoil
• fell
• trample
• overmatch
• take down
• gut
• unbuild
• vandalize
• drub
• blot out
• pillage
• cut down
• dilapidate
• loot
• massacre
• murder
• havoc
• stamp (out)
• wallop
• kill off
• butcher
• snuff (out)
• zap
• dispatch
• root (out)
• mow (down)
• take out
• trash
• skunk

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• construct
• erect
• set up
• raise
• create
• repair
• put up
• fix
• patch
• rear
• produce
• make
• invent
• establish
• mend
• assemble
• found
• form
• manufacture
• protect
• shape
• preserve
• constitute
• organize
• fabricate
• forge
• revamp
• save
• recondition
• mold
• bring about
• rebuild
• institute
• restore
• frame
• conserve
• reconstruct
• fashion
• doctor
• renovate
• remodel
• father

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shatter
• smash
• destroy
• blow
• explode
• burst
• pop
• blast
• detonate
• blow up
• annihilate
• ruin
• decimate
• wreck
• dynamite
• fragment
• discharge
• splinter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collapse
• implode

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of demolish

Trump had the White House East Wing demolished in October 2025 without getting Congress to sign off or sharing those plans in advance. — E. Andrew Taylor, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026

Some are also concerned that the president's proposal for the arch, along with other projects like the ballroom and threats to demolish the Kennedy Center, could significantly alter Washington's landscape. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 21 Sep. 2026

On Thursday, the judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days' notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it. — Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026

After renewing his threat to demolish the long-standing Kennedy Center if courts continue to block his bids to put his name on the building, he was seen with the poster. — Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026