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
Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2026
On Thursday morning, crews were nearly finished demolishing the adjacent structures, one of which was damaged by a fire in March 2024.
—Thomas Gounley, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Police forces, alongside enforcement officers from the Israel Land Authority, arrived at the compound with bulldozers and engineering equipment and began demolishing the site, according to footage obtained by CNN.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026
The project calls for demolishing a single-family home and barn on the lot to make way for the complex, according to city records.
—Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Zappala hopes crews can finish demolishing the structure this spring.
—Lauren Linder, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
The proposal calls for demolishing Towers 300 and 400, the river-facing buildings that house restaurants such as Joe Muer Seafood and Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, along with the podium retail space.
—The Detroit News, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
Baranes, who replaced James McCrery as the White House ballroom designer, talked to the NCPC months after crews began demolishing the East Wing for ballroom renovations.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2026
The move came after the Office of County Administration released December cost estimates for demolishing the building and renovating it.
—John Lomax V, Houston Chronicle, 7 Jan. 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
Crews are demolishing Westport infrastructure to construct an underground storage basin to hold water that previously would have flooded Westport buildings.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2026
On Thursday morning, crews were nearly finished demolishing the adjacent structures, one of which was damaged by a fire in March 2024.
—Thomas Gounley, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Police forces, alongside enforcement officers from the Israel Land Authority, arrived at the compound with bulldozers and engineering equipment and began demolishing the site, according to footage obtained by CNN.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026
The project calls for demolishing a single-family home and barn on the lot to make way for the complex, according to city records.
—Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Zappala hopes crews can finish demolishing the structure this spring.
—Lauren Linder, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
The proposal calls for demolishing Towers 300 and 400, the river-facing buildings that house restaurants such as Joe Muer Seafood and Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, along with the podium retail space.
—The Detroit News, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
Baranes, who replaced James McCrery as the White House ballroom designer, talked to the NCPC months after crews began demolishing the East Wing for ballroom renovations.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2026
The move came after the Office of County Administration released December cost estimates for demolishing the building and renovating it.
—John Lomax V, Houston Chronicle, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demolishing
Noun
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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
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In one case, the life of an upper-class woman and contemporary of Julius Caesar, Clodia, saw her reputation destroyed by false claims of harlotry, home-wrecking, and husband-killing.—
Time,
Time,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Modesto Fire Department Firefighters quickly contained and extinguished the fire, preventing it from destroying the home, officials said.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
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By the way, the last scene of The Conversation has the paranoid Gene Hackman destroying his apartment in a desperate and futile search for listening devices.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In fact, for some items, a standard cold wash can be ruining.—
Ashley Chalmers,
The Spruce,
30 Jan. 2026
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The Dodgers’ $240-million signing of Kyle Tucker revived anguished cries that the team is ruining baseball.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This set from the Good Grips collection is made of borosilicate glass, which is food-safe like standard glass, but also more resistant to heat—meaning it can be taken out of the freezer and popped straight into the microwave to reheat leftovers without shattering.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
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Both films feature an early phone call which is clearly shattering for their characters.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In June 2025, EOS demonstrated the destruction of a tank using a Rodeur 330 fitted with an inert warhead, controlled via FPV.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Jan. 2026
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While navigating Westport by car or on foot is chaotic right now, the goal is to prevent destruction in the future.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In response, the city endorsed a plan to clear major sections of the waterfront for a federal highway — razing industrial sites and promising construction jobs, but at the cost of irreplaceable historic sites along Baltimore’s waterfront.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
23 Jan. 2026
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In a region that defaults to razing the old for the new, giving a defunct terminal a second life is a sign that some Gulf landmarks are worth preserving.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
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By smashing together heavy atoms of lead traveling at near-light speeds using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scientists can create a high-energy environment that briefly frees gluons and quarks from this atomic bondage, recreating the quark-gluon plasma of the early universe.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Repurposing waste heat The launch of the system marked the first time that the Large Hadron Collider, better known for smashing protons at near-light speeds, has been tapped as a renewable thermal source.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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They’ve been burned enough by blowing leads this season.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
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Wilkerson treated him like a traffic cone, blowing by and bullying him for baskets.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demolishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demolishing. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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