vandalize

American  

[van-dl-ahyz] / ˈvæn dlˌaɪz /

especially British, vandalise

verb (used with object)

vandalizes, present (3rd person singular) vandalized, past participle, past vandalizing present participle

1. to destroy or deface by vandalism.

   Someone vandalized the museum during the night.

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vandalize British  

/ ˈvændəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to destroy or damage (something) by an act of vandalism

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• vandalizing
  present
• vandalized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• vandalize
  simple
• vandalizes
  simple
• have vandalized
  perfect
• has vandalized
  perfect
• am vandalizing
  progressive
• are vandalizing
  progressive
• is vandalizing
  progressive
• have been vandalizing
  perfect progressive
• has been vandalizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• vandalized
  simple
• had vandalized
  perfect
• was vandalizing
  progressive
• were vandalizing
  progressive
• had been vandalizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will vandalize
  simple
• will have vandalized
  perfect
• will be vandalizing
  progressive
• will have been vandalizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of vandalize

First recorded in 1790–1800; vandal + -ize

Explanation

If you vandalize something, you damage or destroy it. Graffiti can be art, but if you spray paint your initials on a marble statue, you vandalize it. Vandalize has an ancient root: the Vandals were a Germanic group of people who famously sacked Rome in 455. Thanks to the terrible destruction they left in their wake, the word took on a meaning of "willful destroyer of what is beautiful." To vandalize is to deliberately damage something that doesn't belong to you. For some, it's a tradition to vandalize whole neighborhoods on the night before Halloween, strewing toilet paper in trees, smashing jack-o'-lanterns, and spray painting property. We recommend just trick-or-treating instead.

Related Words

• deface
• demolish
• raze
• smash
• trash
• wreck