as in destroying
to deliberately cause the damage or destruction of another's property
he decided to vandalize the store because the owner had kicked him out
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Recent Examples of vandalizing
Baumann testified that Evetts joined him in vandalizing the vehicles parked in the facility’s adjacent lot and breaking a surveillance camera.
—
Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
William Defoor, 26, was accused of breaking a window to enter Vance’s home and vandalizing a USSS vehicle, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press in January.
—Ryan Mancini, The Hill, 7 Feb. 2026
At least four suspects were detained for vandalizing property in the area and will be charged with felony vandalism, according to the LAPD.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In November, a woman was caught and charged with a felony for vandalizing ancient petroglyphs near Moab.
—Outside, 27 Jan. 2026
Police have arrested a man accused of vandalizing a menorah built by a holocaust survivor outside a synagogue in Bridgeport last month.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2026
Over just two days, 30 people were arrested for vandalizing the mall.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 14 Jan. 2026
The husband was criminally charged with vandalizing property, and the neighbors obtained a harassment prevention order against him.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
An arrest has been made after a man was caught on video knocking over and vandalizing a menorah outside the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector's Office on Monday night, police confirmed.
—Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
William Defoor, 26, was accused of breaking a window to enter Vance’s home and vandalizing a USSS vehicle, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press in January.
—Ryan Mancini, The Hill, 7 Feb. 2026
At least four suspects were detained for vandalizing property in the area and will be charged with felony vandalism, according to the LAPD.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In November, a woman was caught and charged with a felony for vandalizing ancient petroglyphs near Moab.
—Outside, 27 Jan. 2026
Police have arrested a man accused of vandalizing a menorah built by a holocaust survivor outside a synagogue in Bridgeport last month.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2026
Over just two days, 30 people were arrested for vandalizing the mall.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 14 Jan. 2026
The husband was criminally charged with vandalizing property, and the neighbors obtained a harassment prevention order against him.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
An arrest has been made after a man was caught on video knocking over and vandalizing a menorah outside the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector's Office on Monday night, police confirmed.
—Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vandalizing
Verb
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The Pentagon has generally lumped it into the first objective of destroying Iran’s missile capability.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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But there may be an answer, or at least a compromise that will satisfy those unhappy with the idea of destroying a usable building.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This exclusion protects the home warranty company from homeowners who may try to get replacements for appliances or home system components by defacing or damaging them purposefully.—
Dan Simms,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
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Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But the grumblings about demolishing the library building have lately become a roaring debate.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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Israel’s defense minister said the military would accelerate demolishing homes along the southern Lebanese border and destroy all bridges over the Litani River.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of the men is seen on surveillance video smashing the front door with a metal object and connecting the ATM to the vehicle using a metal cable.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
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Particle accelerators like the LHC typically work by firing beams of particles at nearly the speed of light and smashing them together.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Accused of ruining baseball with their big-spending ways the past two years, the noise has only gotten louder as a labor showdown looms.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
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To figure out its mechanism, Julius’s team had to somehow extract it from cells without ruining the very properties the researchers were trying to understand.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rioters were trashing and burning Tehran in opposition to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, while the Shah's secret police, SAVAK, arrested the major opposition figure who was about to call on Pahlavi to leave Iran to make way for a democratic Islamic state.—
Brit McCandless Farmer,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
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Trump lavishly praised the justices who voted his way ― Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito ― while continually trashing the ones who didn't.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Meta must pay $375 million for violating New Mexico law in child exploitation case, jury rules.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
25 Mar. 2026
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In its latest report, Human Rights Watch said Israel's tactics of forcible displacement and deliberate targeting of civilians in Lebanon risk violating international law and constitute war crimes.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Police say the semi truck driver went through a median wall, severely damaging it.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Photos on local media and social networks showed fallen trees in Zagreb, pulled out by their roots, some blocking streets or damaging parked cars.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vandalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vandalizing. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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