demolish

[ dih-mol-ish ]

verb (used with object)

1. to destroy or ruin (a building or other structure), especially on purpose; tear down; raze.

   Synonyms: bulldoze, wreck, level

2. to put an end to; destroy; explode:

   The results of his research demolished many theories.

3. to lay waste to; ruin utterly:

   The fire demolished the area.

4. Informal. to devour completely:

   We simply demolished that turkey.

demolish

/ dɪˈmɒlɪʃ /

verb

1. to tear down or break up (buildings, etc)
2. to destroy; put an end to (an argument, etc)
3. facetious.
   to eat up

   she demolished the whole cake!

Derived Forms

• deˈmolisher, noun
• deˈmolishment, noun

Other Words From

• de·molish·er noun
• de·molish·ment noun
• half-de·molished adjective
• unde·molished adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of demolish¹

1560–70; < Middle French démoliss-, stem of démolir < Latin dēmōlīrī to destroy, equivalent to dē- de- + mōlīrī to set in motion, struggle ( mōl ( ēs ) mass, bulk + -īrī infinitive suffix)

Word History and Origins

Origin of demolish¹

C16: from French démolir, from Latin dēmōlīrī to throw down, destroy, from de- + mōlīrī to strive, toil, construct, from mōles mass, bulk

Synonym Study

See destroy.

Example Sentences

LUCA’s competitors may have survived some time as fossils, but the planet’s tectonic churn has long since demolished its earliest rocks.

From Popular-Science

In 2014 I wrote about a rusty metal box that Anne Smith and Malcolm Bertoni found when they demolished a brick barbecue in their Cleveland Park backyard.

From Washington Post

Epic is purchasing the 980,000-square-foot Cary Towne Center, which sits on 87 acres, from developers who had previously announced plans to demolish the mall and build a new, mixed-use development.

From Quartz

Greig said his family, which has owned the property for the past two decades, can barely afford to demolish the home, let alone move it back on the property line.

From ProPublica

That demolished Delaware’s record for Democratic primary turnout, set in 2008, when Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the race for the small state’s delegates.

From Washington Post

Eri Hayward is cheerful, even as she drops verbal bombs that demolish mainstream conceptions about being transgender.

From The Daily Beast

It will stir things up, but it will not begin to demolish the group.

From The Daily Beast

But if the Arab states mustered the will, they could demolish ISIS, as history has shown.

From The Daily Beast

They need to demolish their homes and round them up, the way they do it to our children.

From The Daily Beast

The sale has hit some snags, but the lease also gives El-Gamel the right to demolish the building.

From The Daily Beast

I did not demolish my hut of pearl shells, but left it standing exactly as it had been during the past two and a half years.

From Project Gutenberg

We then proceeded to demolish everything in sight except the boxes.

From Project Gutenberg

Hans raged and made as if to demolish the heart, and Gretchen, and indeed the whole dyke, but then he thought of something better.

From Project Gutenberg

They did not, however, demolish mine; on the contrary, they supplied another and a very curious link in the chain of evidence.

From Project Gutenberg

These scavengers demolish an incredible amount of meat and blubber in a short time.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• annihilate
• bulldoze
• crush
• decimate
• devastate
• dilapidate
• dismantle
• flatten
• obliterate
• overturn
• pulverize
• raze
• ruin
• smash
• smash up
• trash
• wreck