TORE DOWN Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

tore down

verb

past tense of tear down

as in destroyed

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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as in demolished

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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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 tore down Footage showed dozens of people being arrested as agitators shouted insults at state patrol officers, tore down yellow police tape and hurled lewd objects at law enforcement. —

Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Feb. 2026 The mother and son tore down the existing structure and built the Tavern in its place. —

Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2026 But several months later, construction crews tore down the East Wing and colonnade, as well as the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. —

Ted Johnson, Deadline, 2 Feb. 2026 The group of artists, which was led by then-couple Michael Townsend and Adriana Valdez-Young, came up with the plan after real estate developers tore down their artists' commune about a mile away from what would become the mall. —

Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026 During the demonstrations for racial justice in 2020, protestors across the country defaced and tore down statues of Washington, arguing that enslavers should be reviled, not honored. —

John Garrison Marks, Time, 23 Jan. 2026 Beyond the Luddites, rioters destroyed threshing machines in 1830, Welsh protesters tore down turnpike tollgates in the 1840s. —

Craig S. Smith, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026 The Free Press reports the Detroit Land Bank Authority is separately investigating another demolition contractor who allegedly tore down several homes and buried the debris under layers of backfill dirt instead of properly disposing of the materials. —

Violet Ikonomova, Freep.com, 12 Jan. 2026 All six members of the Commission of Fine Arts -- the panel that is supposed to review this construction project -- were fired as crews tore down building's section. —

Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tore down

Verb

The United States destroyed a key Iranian naval base in the Straight of Hormuz, sinking many vessels present, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the shipping lane was officially closed.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 3 Mar. 2026
Aircraft shelters at the air base to the north of the complex also appear to be damaged or destroyed.

— Victoria Beaule, ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026