razing

verb

present participle of raze
1
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of an entire city block razed by a terrible fire

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in demolishing
to destroy (as a building) completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces the developer razed the old school building and built a high-rise condominium complex

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 razing After razing huge warehouses in recent months belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer, Ukrainian drones are now taking aim at Ozon, the country’s second-largest e-commerce company. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 In March, Nebraska’s Morrill Fire tore through 642,000 acres to become the largest in state history, killing one person and razing vast stretches of cattle country. — Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026 By the late 1980s, McAuley’s days clearly were numbered, as the DuPage County Airport Authority, in the midst of a major expansion, began buying and razing most of the remaining homes in the McAuley district. — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026 Co-founder Ray Bobbitt, a local face of the project, has floated the idea of razing the former A’s ballpark and replacing it with a smaller stadium, plus a hotel, retail storefronts and nightlife venues, in addition to housing. — Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 13 July 2026 The historic designation effectively saved the building from demolition, but only for three years, at which point the brothers were no longer bound by any restrictions on razing the home to the ground. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2026 Mertensotto Field While the new municipal campus is at the same site as the current city hall building, new construction would include razing the baseball field known as Mertensotto Field at Civic Center Park. — Elliot Mann, Twin Cities, 25 May 2026 Israel is razing and looting homes and has vowed to prevent hundreds of thousands of residents, predominantly Shiites, though also members of other religious communities, from returning. — Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026 And what a voice — what an instrument of razing and of raising. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for razing
  1. destroying
  2. demolishing
  3. ruining
  4. wrecking
  5. shattering
  6. devastating
  7. smashing
Verb
  • Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags moved toward beachside migrant camps last week, destroying shelters and setting fires as police attempted to keep protesters and migrants apart, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Several homeowners near Meta’s massive Newton County data center have filed a lawsuit accusing the tech company and others of tainting their water and destroying their rural way of life.
    — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Mansfield Timberview signaled state-title ambitions by demolishing West Mesquite 69-7, while White Settlement Brewer knocked off Class 6A Haltom 31-14 to open Class 5A play.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Aug. 2026
  • While members of the public and the architectural community have criticized the Rike Tubes for altering the character of Tbilisi’s historic old town, some favored relocating them to a more suitable setting rather than demolishing them.
    — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of demolishing
Verb
  • The Horned Frogs crushed the Tar Heels 48-14 in last year’s season opener at Chapel Hill, ruining the college coaching debut of six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
  • So, are invasives ruining the state’s waters, or is the state on the way to becoming the everyman’s Amazon, embraced by the folks who can’t afford the jungle lodge experience?
    — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruining
Verb
  • In a May interview on The Pivot Podcast, Davis blamed his opioid abuse for wrecking his home life.
    — Joshua Goodman, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The 1982-83 winter season, which coincided with a very strong El Niño, was historically destructive for California’s coast, with storms wrecking the Santa Monica and Seal Beach piers.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrecking
Verb
  • The video shows a customer walking out of Cinnaholic when the girls ride the scooter through the window, shattering the glass.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Wednesday, which was forecast to be the hottest day of the heat wave, brought record-shattering temperatures across the Southland.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of shattering
Verb
  • Over 150 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after devastating flash floods swept through the Himalayan region along the Nepal-Tibet border, officials from both countries confirmed Wednesday.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
  • And that roads budget included the funding to take care of the existing roads, which would have been devastating ecologically and socially, because if these roads keep falling off the hillsides, then people can’t use them.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • Bland said officers were dispatched after a 911 caller reported that Garcia had been walking down the street with a baseball bat, smashing car windows.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Nvidia guided for 70% revenue growth in fiscal-year 2028, smashing estimates of 40%.
    — Benzinga, Freep.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of smashing

Browse Nearby Words

razes
razing
razz
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Cite this Entry

“Razing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/razing. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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