TEAR DOWN Synonyms: 170 Similar and Opposite Words

tear down

verb

as in to destroy

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of vandals tore down the wooden fence blocking the entrance to the beach

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to demolish

to destroy (as a building) completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces the new owners apparently bought the house just to tear it down and build a lavish mansion in its place

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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 tear down Clashes intensified this weekend as police with riot shields and officers on horseback pushed back demonstrators, some of whom tore down barricades, hurled objects and set tires ablaze outside the 1,000-bed facility. —

Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026 And one treehouse that was the subject of controversy during its brief time in La Jolla has been torn down. —

Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026 Attendance diminished in recent years as the Wizards tore down their roster in the hopes of accumulating draft picks in trades and losing enough games to win early picks via the annual draft lottery. —

Josh Robbins, New York Times, 28 May 2026 Eventually, the brutalist post office was torn down and replaced with an apartment building. —

Jack Irvin, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for tear down

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tear down

Verb

Fueled by large stocks of critically dry vegetation and extreme winds, the fires killed 31 people, destroyed nearly 12,000 homes, and forced over 150,000 evacuations.

— Doyle Rice, USA Today, 31 May 2026
But satellite images reviewed by CNN show how Iran has used simple equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks to counter those costly campaigns — suggesting that Tehran’s missile capabilities can’t be destroyed just by targeting tunnel entrances, experts said.

— Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 31 May 2026