DEMOLISHES Synonyms: 180 Similar and Opposite Words

demolishes

verb

present tense third-person singular of demolish

as in destroys

to destroy (as a building) completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces developers demolished the old warehouse to make room for the new shopping mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shatters

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of most of the buildings in the town had been demolished in the bombing raid

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in smashes

to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive terrorists used a powerful pipe bomb to demolish the concrete wall around the compound

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 demolishes An $8,000 Ryvid Anthem or a $10,000 Maeving RM1S will deliver broadly similar urban usability, while the $12,500 Zero FXE absolutely demolishes it on power-per-dollar. — Utkarsh Sood june 12, New Atlas, 12 June 2026 The latest filing demolishes the timeworn claim that DOGE was infiltrated into Social Security in order to responsibly ferret out fraud and overspending. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026 If the city demolishes the building, the costs will be assessed to the property owner. — Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for demolishes

Verb

Unlike a measurement that absorbs or destroys the photons, this method can extract information while preserving the photons themselves.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
Raking or shredding those leaves destroys the next generation.

— Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of destroys

Verb

Barry Bonds wraps up his record-breaking season with his 73rd homer and shatters the slugging percentage record that Babe Ruth had owned for 81 years.

— Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
When a severe heatwave shatters her family’s fragile routine and exposes her father’s dementia, Anna’s world is thrown into uncertainty.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of shatters

Verb

The company essentially smashes the cooler into a long, slim form low enough to slide under its Box beds while one or two people snore cozily away on top.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026
His acumen for promotion, particularly in international markets, helped the commercial success of box office smashes such as Saturday Night Fever and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

— Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of smashes

Verb

George Santos simply cannot get up After surprising the DS by passing the first task — falling out of a hovering helicopter backward — Santos ruins his big moment by struggling to swim to the dock and not being able to lift himself out of the water.

— Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026
Nothing ruins an outfit faster than an ill-fitting bra, which is why this V-neck option caught our eye.

— Jacqueline Tempera, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of ruins

Verb

Miami fans had plenty to stress about as the UM offense misfired and Florida State responded to potential knockout blows with huge plays.

— Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
But when the final whistle blows, another job is often waiting for them the next morning.

— Preston Fore, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of blows

Verb

As climate chaos causes oceans to swallow coastlands, and as surging water displaces and devastates communities, social survival will demand that people find ways to live and work with – and on – the water.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
The urban planner and former professor also knows what happens next after a powerful earthquake devastates whole communities.

— Luis Giraldo, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of devastates

Verb

If checking your score reliably wrecks your morning, the device isn’t working for you.

— J. David Creswell, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026

Definition of wrecks

Browse Nearby Words

demolishers

demolishes

demolishing

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Demolishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demolishes. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of demolishes

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vocation

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes