Synonyms of tear down

tear down

verb

1

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tear down

Lowering taxes on work and investment, making labor markets more flexible, cutting unnecessary regulations and tearing down trade barriers help grow the economy. — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2026

The 4-year-old Airbus plane that was torn down outside Phoenix in May is a key example. — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026

Bulldozers tore down Palestinian businessman Riyad Mureish’s home in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Friday, as Israeli officials launched a fresh crackdown on residents there. — Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2026

In Russia plaques commemorating victims of the Great Purge are being torn down and the last museum of the Gulag has been closed. — Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026