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tore down

verb

past tense of tear down
1
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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

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 tore down Thousands of fans in a crowd of 48,238 stormed the field and tore down both goalposts to celebrate the end of a four-game KU losing streak. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026 In 2023, the Claramontes tore down the house, despite protests from civic leaders who sought to maintain the area’s heritage. — Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026 Department of Homeland Security contractors tore down the first of the three trees on July 27. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 30 July 2026 The French revolutionaries tore down almost all of society’s old structures—including the calendar, the churches, and the school system. — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 Piepenbrink encouraged people to visit the Crete Township Community Center on Cottage Grove Avenue and Monee Road to view photos from a 1952 fire that tore down the Balmoral Park grandstand during renovations. — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026 The president's team also repaired fountains throughout the city, tore down the White House's East Wing to make way for a ballroom, attempted to close the Kennedy Center for renovations, and drew up plans for a gigantic triumphal arch across the river from the capital in Virginia. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 19 June 2026 The properties sit across a cove from where Michael Jordan once tore down his own mansion (presumably to build a bigger one — as one does). — Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2026 Protesters tore down and disabled enforcement cameras and painted the policy as a civil liberties issue. — Justin Worland, Time, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tore down
  1. destroyed
  2. demolished
  3. ruined
  4. pulled down
  5. shattered
  6. wrecked
  7. devastated
  8. smashed
Verb
  • The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 629 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and the Azov and the Black seas.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • In the course of three weeks, Israeli soldiers destroyed much of the area, razing schools and mosques and commandeering buildings for use as military posts.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Verb
  • The block that houses Monarch Donuts will soon be demolished as construction starts on a new retail and residential development called the Arcadia Town Center.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Part of the former Bob Jones Shoes building in the Crossroads could be demolished.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of demolished
Verb
  • Before the attack, millions of books a year were printed in this space, where there’s now nothing but piles of swollen book stock, ruined after firefighters put out the blaze.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • In a defense memo, Pattis characterizes Diamantis as a broken and financially ruined former politician and lawyer who at 70 might not survive a long prison sentence.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of ruined
Verb
  • The juvenile victim later alleged during a forensic interview that Tucker had pulled down his own pants at one point and sat on the victim with his bare buttocks touching the younger boy’s skin.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Sep. 2026
  • While the victim was being held down, the 17-year-old boy allegedly pulled down his own pants and underwear and sat on the victim's chest.
    — Steven Rosenbaum, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of pulled down
Verb
  • Sitting by the defense table in a wheelchair during Wednesday’s proceedings, Weinstein looked straight ahead as Haley, 49, told the court in tears that her self-esteem had been shattered by the attack and by having to relive it repeatedly.
    — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Zhu has lived in four tech houses, and her view of them as utopic spaces for entrepreneurs was shattered by her experience.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of shattered
Verb
  • This may then seem like yet another story about how Trump has wrecked norms and corrupted the rule of law.
    — James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The violent swings that powered his game, launching golf balls far beyond his competitors, also wrecked his back and knees.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of wrecked
Verb
  • The region was also among those most severely affected by the February 2023 earthquakes that devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The horrors for women and girls are prevalent everywhere, Theron said, but her native South Africa is particularly devastated by it.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of devastated
Verb
  • Vandals smashed out the windows of the Haymarket Pub & Brewery in Chicago's West Loop early Monday.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The image of babies smashed to bits is likely to arouse protests like Abraham’s.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of smashed

Browse Nearby Words

tore
tore down
tore into
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Cite this Entry

“Tore down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tore%20down. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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