TEARING DOWN Synonyms: 172 Similar and Opposite Words

tearing down

verb

present participle of tear down

as in destroying

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in demolishing

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

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 tearing down Development in Charlotte has often involved tearing down historic sites. — Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2026 While their Oscar-winning No Other Land alternated between scenes of bulldozers tearing down homes in the West Bank and scenes showing the growing camaraderie between Abraham and his Palestinian co-director Badel Adra, there is no such relief here. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026 Demolition crews have begun tearing down the historic Grandview United Presbyterian Church in Mount Washington after weeks of delays. — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Demolition crews this month began tearing down another complex, the Lindy Boggs Medical Center, which had sat blighted and vacant for more than 20 years after Katrina. — Jack Brook, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026 Videos broadcast by regional news outlets and posted on social media show violent torrents of water surging through valleys and mountain passes, tearing down bridges and dams and sweeping away buildings. — Arshad R. Zargar, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026 One data center company, Aligned, is tearing down four high-vacancy office buildings in town, including the former ADP payroll building, to build new data center space. — Alex Nitkin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 The dissolution of the ghettos in the eighteenth century could be interpreted as tearing down barriers, but now poverty set in and the wealthy separated from those who formerly shared a similar destiny. — Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026 The thieves reportedly gained access to the building by using a Lilli Petroli truck and tearing down a large iron entrance gate using a cable. — Theo Belci, Artforum, 7 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearing down

Verb

Sonil Jain, Co-founder of Sowtex and ReMaterial, noted that for a fabric exporter trading with Russia, Brazil, or the UAE, there were many possible benefits, including cheaper, faster B2B settlements without dollar-clearing fees destroying margins.

— Mayu Saini, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026
Some put the chance of AI destroying everyone, everywhere, all at once at around 50%.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

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

Definition of demolishing

Verb

Museum putty or wax can help keep pieces in place without ruining either the tray or your collectibles.

— Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2026
As fishermen wrestled their catches out of flimsy fiberglass boats near a makeshift shoreside market recently, several stopped to talk with CNN, complaining that the war is ruining business.

— Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of ruining

Verb

The pressure improved in the second half with edge Seth Coleman-Lyles and defensive lineman Cam Riley pulling down quarterback Brandon Allen for the only sack of the game.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 23 Aug. 2026
The teenage girls alerted police of the incident, in which the suspect allegedly attempted to engage the girls in conversation while pulling down his pants and masturbating in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, police said.

— Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of pulling down

Verb

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
Maya’s fear of commitment mirrors the film’s fear of showing us anything truly ugly or grappling with the idea that our heroine is one of many, many people who lost someone during a society-shattering number of years.

— Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of shattering

Verb

Military force has imposed enormous costs on both Hamas and Iran, devastating their military facilities and killing their commanders.

— NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
The country is also recovering from devastating back-to-back earthquakes in June that have so far killed over 6,000 people.

— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of devastating

Verb

Here’s how the shift happened, what the ingredient actually does below the neck and how to fold it into a routine without wrecking your skin barrier.

— Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026
The general public learned of the demolition plan only when the wrecking equipment began work nearly three months later.

— Dan Diamond, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of wrecking

Verb

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
In the rare instances people have spotted, these birds avoid getting stung by smashing the wasps on the ground to break the stingers before finishing their meal.

— Sean Donnelly, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of smashing

Browse Nearby Words

tearing

tearing down

tearing into

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“Tearing down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearing%20down. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of tearing down

verb

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