Synonyms of tearing down

tearing down

verb

present participle of tear down

1

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

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

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

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tearing down

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

Mercury is a big network with an independent spirit, tearing down gatekeepers and giving a platform to the best indie shows. — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

That will take Major League Soccer tearing down all the walls. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

But others—including tearing down the East Wing to build a ballroom, or his plan to construct an arch at the city’s limits—are an attempt to cement his legacy long after his term in office is over. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026