Synonyms of demolishing

demolishing 1 of 2

noun

as in wrecking

Related Words

• wrecking
• destruction
• desecration
• ravaging
• demolishment
• ravage
• trashing
• ruination
• desecrating
• vandalism
• ruin
• defacement
• defacing
• sabotage
• vandalization
• looting
• plundering
• pillaging
• marauding
• despoiling
• pillage
• ransacking
• spoliation
• plunder
• predation
• depredation
• sacking
• despoilment

Dissimilar Words

• saving
• protection
• preservation
• conservation
• salvage

demolishing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of demolish

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroying
• razing
• smashing
• wrecking
• ruining
• unbuilding
• tearing down
• dynamiting
• finishing
• leveling
• pulling down
• overturning
• flattening
• obliterating
• ravaging
• eradicating
• abolishing
• decimating
• wasting
• pulverizing
• annihilating
• devastating
• extirpating
• devouring
• crushing
• dissolving
• wiping out
• totaling
• blowing up
• unmaking
• dashing
• cracking up
• doing in
• scourging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• erecting
• raising
• restoring
• rebuilding
• creating
• renewing
• making
• forming
• putting up
• shaping
• manufacturing
• renovating
• forging
• fashioning
• fabricating

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroying
• ruining
• wrecking
• shattering
• smashing
• devastating
• overcoming
• damaging
• razing
• wasting
• annihilating
• extinguishing
• pulverizing
• decimating
• eroding
• vaporizing
• dismantling
• ravaging
• marring
• totaling
• killing
• defeating
• crushing
• creaming
• removing
• nuking
• blasting
• crippling
• tearing down
• pulling down
• wracking
• breaking
• injuring
• doing in
• subduing
• conquering
• desolating
• disintegrating
• mutilating
• trimming
• licking
• dissolving
• deteriorating
• rubbing out
• dynamiting
• impairing
• spoiling
• harming
• clobbering
• mastering
• eradicating
• defacing
• obliterating
• surmounting
• whipping
• prevailing (over)
• gutting
• mangling
• routing
• disfiguring
• thrashing
• disassembling
• winning (against)
• besting
• beating
• scouring
• slaughtering
• walloping
• undoing
• exterminating
• wearing (away)
• expunging
• vandalizing
• liquidating
• murdering
• triumphing (over)
• plundering
• assassinating
• trouncing
• vitiating
• extirpating
• sweeping (away)
• sacking
• executing
• trashing
• looting
• effacing
• pillaging
• overmatching
• despoiling
• trampling
• scotching
• blowing up
• massacring
• washing out
• unbuilding
• wiping out
• slaying
• dispatching
• dilapidating
• taking down
• overbearing
• drubbing
• butchering
• stamping (out)
• cutting down
• unmaking
• zapping
• blotting out
• rooting (out)
• felling
• killing off
• skunking
• taking out
• mowing (down)
• snuffing (out)
• havocking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• building
• constructing
• erecting
• repairing
• raising
• creating
• fixing
• rearing
• setting up
• making
• producing
• forming
• putting up
• inventing
• establishing
• assembling
• shaping
• manufacturing
• organizing
• revamping
• fashioning
• forging
• framing
• protecting
• preserving
• fabricating
• molding
• constituting
• patching
• reconditioning
• instituting
• saving
• mending
• rebuilding
• restoring
• conserving
• doctoring
• founding
• reconstructing
• bringing about
• remodeling
• renovating
• fathering

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shattering
• smashing
• destroying
• blowing
• blasting
• exploding
• bursting
• popping
• detonating
• wrecking
• blowing up
• dynamiting
• ruining
• annihilating
• decimating
• fragmenting
• discharging
• splintering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collapsing
• imploding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of demolishing

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

Following the attack, the Israeli military began forcing Palestinian families to leave their homes in parts of the city as forces began demolishing homes and businesses. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2026

Photographs from Hebron showed Israeli bulldozers demolishing at least one Palestinian building. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026

Investigative work last week included demolishing a shed in the backyard and digging through soil. — Joe Holden, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

The district selected a redevelopment proposal this year that would include demolishing the school and building single-family homes. — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026

The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

For many, like the preservationists pushing to save Santa Monica’s Mel’s Drive-In, the mere thought of demolishing the iconic restaurant is offensive. — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 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

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, however, has spent the past decade demolishing nearly every institution that supposedly kept the party strong. — Andrew Mertha, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026