vandal

[van-dl]

noun

1. (initial capital letter),  a member of a Germanic people who in the 5th century a.d. ravaged Gaul and Spain, settled in Africa, and in a.d. 455 sacked Rome.

2. a person who willfully or ignorantly destroys or mars something beautiful or valuable.

adjective

1. (initial capital letter),  of or relating to the Vandals.

2. imbued with or characterized by vandalism.

vandal

¹

/ ˈvændəl /

noun

1. 1. a person who deliberately causes damage or destruction to personal or public property

   2. ( as modifier )

      vandal instincts

Vandal

²

/ ˈvændəl, vænˈdælɪk /

noun

1. a member of a Germanic people that raided Roman provinces in the 3rd and 4th centuries _ad before devastating Gaul (406–409), conquering Spain and N Africa, and sacking Rome (455): crushed by Belisarius at Carthage (533)

Other Word Forms

• Vandalic adjective
• Vandalism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vandal¹

First recorded in 1545–55, vandal is from the Late Latin word Vandalus, Latinized tribal name

Word History and Origins

Origin of vandal¹

C17: from _Vandal , from Latin Vandallus, of Germanic origin

Example Sentences

"There have been 12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals," he said on the French television Reunion La Premiere.

Read more on Barron's

I kept it for a really long time, and then when we were writing “Memory Don’t Mess Around,” we did, “Stole every bit of my moving-on like a vandal.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One recent blaze was sparked by vandals trying to steal wiring.

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Early last year, vandals breached fencing, climbed dozens of flights of stairs and painted bold, colorful graffiti on the exterior of three unfinished high-rises that make up the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza development.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“What had been a clean slate at noon became by midnight a living gallery of street expression, filled with burners, rollers, and painted signatures from L.A.’s most well known vandals.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times