demolishing 1 of 2

demolishing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of demolish
1
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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
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 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. — Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 19 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 The problem is that the Giants are a bit overrated after demolishing the Cowboys and the Rams are a bit underrated after their terrible performance in Australia against the 49ers. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2026 The condition was dire enough that demolishing the building was a consideration. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026 One drone operator talks about going out for lunch or hanging out with their friends in Tel Aviv after demolishing people’s houses in Gaza from miles away. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026 At Cordova Villa Elementary, construction includes demolishing the existing administration building and a classroom building. — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026 By 2022, the former mill was in disrepair, leading the city to purchase the property with the intention of demolishing it. — Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demolishing
Noun
  • At least, there was a lot less wrecking.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2026
  • 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
Verb
  • Fox attorneys also accused executives at both Dominion and Smartmatic of destroying evidence in their respective cases, and sought sanctions.
    — Maddy Lauria, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Because both sides can persistently generate concentrated effects without concentrating forces, destroying the enemy’s ability to keep fighting becomes harder.
    — NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Seaver also allegedly threatened to start a podcast dedicated to ruining Parton’s image unless he was paid.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Even if your appliance feels cool to the touch, warm air rises and can make the top slightly warmer, slowly cooking the wine and ruining the flavor.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Man searching with metal detector unearths massive Viking Age fortune, shattering records.
    — , FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Last week a number of concerned mathematicians, many of them at the top of their subject, launched the Association for Human Mathematics (AHM)—an effort that was underway even before the earth-shattering Navier-Stokes news.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 14 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Counsel argued that seizing the ballots was necessary to preserve potential evidence before statutory destruction deadlines and to compare the total number of ballots with official vote records.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The investigation into Israel’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza was shot at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv where the filmmakers interviewed Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers about destruction and loss of life.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In the course of three weeks, Israeli soldiers destroyed much of the area, razing schools and mosques and commandeering buildings for use as military posts.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Its original construction took years and involved razing an entire district of the city.
    — Benjamin Moser, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • One panel was falling, then smashing on the path, lead relinquishing its long grip on the glass.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The helicopter crashed in a driveway between two warehouses, smashing into a pair of truck cargo containers while the news crew tried grabbing video footage of a serious collision involving a Metro bus that also left two people dead.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The one in the middle is blowing a bubble, with her legs stretched out and propped up on the chair of the girl in front of her.
    — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • During El Nino, low-level surface winds blowing from east to west across the Pacific are weakened or sometimes reversed.
    — John Raby, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Demolishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demolishing. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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