as in defacers
a person who damages or destroys property on purpose
a group of vandals broke into the school and painted graffiti on the walls
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Recent Examples of vandals
If caught, the vandals could face serious consequences.
—
Outside, 27 Jan. 2026
Cops arrested a pair of teen vandals Thursday and charged them with desecrating a Brooklyn playground in a Jewish neighborhood with more than 50 swastikas during a two-day attack, police and city officials said.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Over the next two months or so, work will focus inside the 190,000-square-foot, bunker-like structure — vacant for nearly two decades and long the target of vandals and the object of thieves who stripped the concrete structure of anything of value.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 14 Jan. 2026
The vandals came at night Tarring the asphalt with the coward’s color.
—Ken Burns, The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2025
His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.
—CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
The original gym closed in 2006 as the city of Detroit struggled to maintain its recreation centers and vandals ripped out the building's wiring and copper pipes.
—Jc Reindl, Freep.com, 10 Dec. 2025
The property has experienced severe damage from frequent break-ins, fires and vandals, Sean Pickett, representative for Robeson Holding, told the city’s historic preservation commission on Friday.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 25 Nov. 2025
There was one instance of vandals toppling monuments.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
Outside, 27 Jan. 2026
Cops arrested a pair of teen vandals Thursday and charged them with desecrating a Brooklyn playground in a Jewish neighborhood with more than 50 swastikas during a two-day attack, police and city officials said.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Over the next two months or so, work will focus inside the 190,000-square-foot, bunker-like structure — vacant for nearly two decades and long the target of vandals and the object of thieves who stripped the concrete structure of anything of value.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 14 Jan. 2026
The vandals came at night Tarring the asphalt with the coward’s color.
—Ken Burns, The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2025
His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.
—CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
The original gym closed in 2006 as the city of Detroit struggled to maintain its recreation centers and vandals ripped out the building's wiring and copper pipes.
—Jc Reindl, Freep.com, 10 Dec. 2025
The property has experienced severe damage from frequent break-ins, fires and vandals, Sean Pickett, representative for Robeson Holding, told the city’s historic preservation commission on Friday.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 25 Nov. 2025
There was one instance of vandals toppling monuments.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vandals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vandals. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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