VANDALIZING Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

vandalizing

verb

present participle of vandalize

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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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 vandalizing Hearn's case garnered national attention, after he was falsely accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and subsequently indicted on a charge of felony destruction of government property. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 To protest in the street, to be arrested for attacking a police officer or vandalizing private property, or making a fool of yourself in any of a hundred different ways is valuable currency to anyone seeking status within an activist organization. — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 1 Oct. 2026 In August, Kuna had at least two incidents of people vandalizing or stealing the license-plate readers, Emily Walker, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told the Statesman Thursday. — Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2026 That would let prosecutors ask a grand jury to charge Hearn again if new evidence were discovered implicating him in vandalizing the pool. — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026 However, charges were dropped against several people accused of vandalizing the pool. — Mike Stunson, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026 An Ohio man accused of vandalizing Vice President JD Vance’s Cincinnati home earlier this year pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, officials said. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 News outlets have reported a growing number of allegations of misuse by police in other parts of the country, as well as instances of people vandalizing the cameras — something also happening here. — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2026 Trump blamed the sealant issues on vandalism without providing evidence, and felony charges were brought against a former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn, after he was accused of vandalizing the pool. — Matthew Daly, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vandalizing

Verb

Hurricane Isaias made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Saturday, spawning tornadoes, destroying buildings and downing power lines across the Gulf region.

— Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026
Israeli soldiers filmed themselves in high definition laughing, looting homes, destroying entire rows of buildings, humiliating civilians, even killing them.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

Over the weekend, ShinyHunters boasted about hijacking and defacing CLOP’s site on the dark web with an image of a Pokémon.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026
Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts, cited laws against defacing monuments as grounds for imprisoning anyone harming the pool.

— Nathan Ellgren, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026

Definition of defacing

Verb

This is not the first time a coach in LAUSD has gotten into trouble trying to improve a facility, with the district issuing disciplinary action and demolishing the improvement because it was not authorized.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
On Thursday, the judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days' notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of demolishing

Verb

Holt had been smashing the glass of a jewelry kiosk stand with a blunt object, police said.

— Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the squad took his ball-respecting mantra to its logical extreme, seemingly reluctant to sully it by smashing it into the net, with Chelsea recording the biggest xG underperformance in the Premier League during his brief tenure.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

As wet electrodes get thicker, the liquid binder migrates unevenly during drying, ruining the battery‘s structure.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
Seaver also allegedly threatened to start a podcast dedicated to ruining Parton’s image unless he was paid.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of ruining

Verb

Instead, seal them in a dark plastic bag and bake them in direct sun for a few weeks to kill all seeds and roots before trashing them, or send them to a commercial or municipal composting facility.

— Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Friends told her that in the dining hall, where copies of the Review are often scattered like birdseed, some students were trashing the column.

— Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of trashing

Verb

In the letter, Omar's attorneys accused the Justice Department of violating longstanding agency policy designed to avoid potentially influencing an election.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
He was arrested again a week later after violating a protection order by trying to contact the woman, according to the arrest affidavit.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of violating

Verb

The 2025 decision came after the group claimed responsibility for breaking into a major air base, RAF Brize Norton, northwest of London, and damaging aircraft.

— Inaya Folarin Iman, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
In October 2025, Baja California’s prosecutor said a drone dropped homemade explosive devices at an anti-kidnapping prosecutor’s office in Tijuana, damaging four vehicles but causing no injuries.

— Armando Regil Velasco, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of damaging

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vandalizes

vandalizing

vandals

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“Vandalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vandalizing. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of vandalizing

verb

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