demolish
English · Thesaurus
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demolish
- /dɪˈmɒl.ɪʃ/
Where it comes from
Attested since the 16th century; from Middle French demoliss-, the stem of some conjugated forms of the verb demolir (“to destroy”, “to tear down”), from Latin dēmōlior (“to tear down”). Displaced native Old English tōweorpan (literally “to throw apart”).
verb demolishes · demolishing · demolished
- To destroy (buildings, etc.), especially in a planned or intentional fashion. They demolished the old mill and put up four townhouses.
- To defeat, refute, discredit, or consume utterly (as a theory, belief or opponent). The Captain folded his brow into a look of intense perplexity. 'You seem exceedingly spry for a man who demolished an entire bottle of brandy and better part of an ounce of shag in a single evening.' 'And very nice too,' said the tramp. 'Now as to breakfast?'
- To devour; to eat up “Thanks, Raj.” Frank was too hungry to worry about Raj’s gob gloop on the bar, and happily demolished it in seconds.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: destroy, raze, obliterate, annihilate, dismantling, break, wreck, tear, eliminate, devastate, ruin, overthrow, undermine, remove, dismantle, topple
Translations
Every language
verb to destroy
| Español | demoler |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 崩す kuzusu, 取り壊す surikowasu |
| 中文 | 拆除 chāichú |
| Português | demolir |
| Français | démolir |
| Deutsch | abreißen, niederreißen |
| Italiano | demolire |
| Ελληνικά | γκρεμίζω gkremízo, κατεδαφίζω katedafízo |
| Română | dărâma |
| Русский | разруша́ть razrušátʹ, разру́шить razrúšitʹ, сноси́ть snosítʹ, снести́ snestí |
| Tiếng Việt | phá hủy |
| العربية | هَدَمَ hadama |
| עברית | הרס harás |
Talk about this word "demolish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/demolish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. demolish. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/demolish "demolish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/demolish.Cite this
@misc{demolish_2026,
title = {demolish},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/demolish},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
