vandalism
Americannoun
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deliberately mischievous or malicious destruction or damage of property.
vandalism of public buildings.
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the conduct or spirit characteristic of the Vandals.
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willful or ignorant destruction of artistic or literary treasures.
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a vandalic act.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vandalism
Explanation
Vandalism is the destruction of someone else's property. Some people think of graffiti as public art, while others dismiss it as nothing but vandalism. If you damage public or private property on purpose, you've committed the crime of vandalism. The range of vandalism can vary from carving your initials in a desk at school to tearing pages out of a library book to breaking windows of a building. The word vandal comes from the Vandals, the Germanic tribe that attacked Rome in 455. The tribe's name meant "wanderer," but the word vandal was used in the 1600s to mean "destroyer of what is beautiful."
Vocabulary lists containing vandalism
Frindle
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Banned Book Club
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pirro said a botched renovation, not vandalism, was responsible for the reflecting pool’s problems—and infuriated Trump by dropping the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
"We need to find those responsible and do all we can to ensure this kind of mindless vandalism doesn't happen again," he added.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Federal prosecutors charged several people with vandalism, including former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, a 65-year-old who maintains he just picked up a piece of loose lining because he was curious …
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Olympian David Hearn after concluding that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by a flawed renovation rather than vandalism.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
There had been some vandalism in the graveyard the previous year, and the council had Taken Steps.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
