TORN DOWN Synonyms: 176 Similar and Opposite Words

torn down

verb

past participle 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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 torn down The structures were temporary in nature and eventually torn down, including the water gate entrance to a structure called the Electric Building located at the South Lagoon, which is featured in Chavez’s book. — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026 Estrogen puts the brakes on the demo crew by capping how much gets torn down and keeps the building crew ramped up to finish the rebuild. — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 27 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 Others are at risk of being torn down to make way for more profitable projects. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026 The mall closed after only five years and most of the former factory complex that housed it was torn down, but Goose Island remained for nearly another 30. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 22 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 There’s an additional piece of history that further highlights the WHHA’s hypocrisy in remaining silent as Kennedy’s garden was torn up and the East Wing torn down. — Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2026 And not all old things need to be torn down for the sake of Charlotte’s growth. — Charlotte Observer, 16 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for torn down

Verb

In Bulgaria, authorities found and destroyed a Russian Gerbera-2 drone, which was not carrying explosives, in the waters of the country’s northern Black Sea coast, the Defense Ministry said Friday.

— Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
He was born in 1941 in the village of al-Birwa, which was destroyed by Israeli forces in 1948.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of destroyed

Verb

His personal bodyguard dozed in the courtroom’s family and friends section as an assistant scrolled through her phone and his father demolished a Snickers.

— Luke Jones, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
Before it was demolished in the early 1800s, his crumbling mansion was said to be haunted by ghosts and strange occurrences.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of demolished

Verb

Glancing down at my hands, the jungle-green polish from Lima was hopelessly chipped, ruined by river mud and rain.

— Liam Hess, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Filming the kiss scene in public with dozens of bystanders armed with cell phone watching proved a challenge but, luckily, no one ruined the surprise.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of ruined

Verb

Where cold slabs of ocean floor sink into the mantle at subduction zones, the ground gets pulled down; where hot mantle rises, it gets pushed up.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
Moving Money Around The party’s top Senate super PAC pulled down several weeks’ worth of ads in those two Southern states in recent weeks, per information shared with Semafor, saving $22 million in North Carolina and $11 million in Georgia.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of pulled down

Verb

When they were smashed into molecules consisting of two ordinary hydrogen atoms, the muonic atoms implanted themselves within those molecules and assimilated one of their hydrogens.

— George Musser, Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026
In Frankfurt, police said Molotov cocktails were thrown at emergency personnel and shop windows were smashed.

— Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of smashed

Verb

Bystander video showed a fiery crater gouged into Military Trail, a major highway, with the pavement buckled and shattered around the wreckage.

— Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2026
Still, the state has shattered early voting records with a more diverse electorate and stronger turnout in left-leaning jurisdictions.

— Caleb Groves, AJC.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of shattered

Verb

No one was injured in Sunday's strike on the village of Komyshuvakha, but specialized rescue equipment was damaged, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Nov. 2026
Remove dead or damaged branches anytime to keep shrubs healthy and shapely.

— The Spruce, The Spruce, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of damaged

Browse Nearby Words

tornadoes

torn down

torn into

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“Torn down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torn%20down. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of torn down

verb

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