as in vandalism
deliberate damaging or destroying of another's property
colorizing that classic black-and-white film would be an unforgivable act of cinematic vandalization
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to destroy
to deliberately cause the damage or destruction of another's property
he decided to vandalize the store because the owner had kicked him out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vandalization
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
That night, a minority of protesters had blocked roads, threw water bottles and rocks at officers and vandalized property, police said, according to the complaint, leading authorities to issue a dispersal order.
—Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vandalization
Noun
Some city governments gave up on Columbus statues after multiple rounds of vandalization and decided to remove them, like in New Haven, Connecticut.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
Students demonstrated in the historic center of Morelia, with several demonstrators vandalizing at least two buildings used by local authorities, according to reports.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
That night, a minority of protesters had blocked roads, threw water bottles and rocks at officers and vandalized property, police said, according to the complaint, leading authorities to issue a dispersal order.
—Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vandalization
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vandalization
Noun
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Four decades later, despite a handful of mostly minor injuries (the Hill’s angle of incline is more than thirty degrees), a few instances of vandalism, and our fair share of brutal losses (some years more than others), the tradition endures.—
Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
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Angela Rollins, 62, was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of cruelty to an animal, vandalism, burglary and battery.—
Cameron Macdonald,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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So, automation can be used to destroy labor or workers’ power, but it can also be used in the opposite direction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Homes, businesses and synagogues were destroyed.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The protests stretched beyond India’s borders, too, with London’s Asia House controversially canceling an exhibition of Husain’s work in 2006, citing security concerns, after Hindu groups demanded its closure and vandals defaced two of his paintings.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
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Harrison Grant Randall, 39, was charged earlier this year with six counts of defacing property after Brookline Police posted a video of a suspect riding his bike — and the public helped ID him.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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During the closure, crews will demolish the Lister Avenue Bridge and the pedestrian bridge at Oakley Avenue over I-70.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
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The military showed us a map of Hamas tunnel routes Israeli forces are still discovering and demolishing in the area.—
Daniel Estrin,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Within a few years of leaving Texas, Rauschenberg had upended everything the place had meant to him, smashing through the parochialism of small-town Southern life, where necks were broken in Jesus’ name, and families indentured or murdered.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
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Mantis shrimps can safely smash open clam shells with their claws.—
Carl Zimmer,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
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So, no, women didn’t ruin the workplace.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In August 2024, the Hales Corners Library Board voted unanimously to keep the books in the library's circulation and concluded Lewis-Lane and library staff did not violate library policies.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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But Comey's attorneys raised separate concerns that by using those materials at all, the government may have violated Comey's rights -- not just by reviewing potentially privileged information, but also by revisiting evidence obtained by warrants that would now be considered stale.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Stay away from windows as flying debris generated by damaging winds can be deadly.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
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According to Brown, Hurricane Michael damaged 80 percent of the park’s namesake trees, but through a project with the Florida Park Service and Atlanta Botanical Garden, seeds obtained from living trees are being grown and planted in the ravine habitat at Torreya State Park.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vandalization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vandalization. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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