as in destroying
to deliberately cause the damage or destruction of another's property
he decided to vandalize the store because the owner had kicked him out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vandalizing
Debel is the same village where an Israeli soldier was photographed vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ earlier this month, causing international outrage.
—
Max Saltman, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Two teenagers are behind bars for allegedly vandalizing a fence with antisemitic graffiti in Sterling Heights, police say.
—Alysia Burgio, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
The charges include felony counts of making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon involving a motor vehicle on March 19, and vandalizing Buckingham’s Mercedes-Benz S450 the same day.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2026
Baumann testified that Evetts joined him in vandalizing the vehicles parked in the facility’s adjacent lot and breaking a surveillance camera.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
William Defoor, 26, was accused of breaking a window to enter Vance’s home and vandalizing a USSS vehicle, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press in January.
—Ryan Mancini, The Hill, 7 Feb. 2026
At least four suspects were detained for vandalizing property in the area and will be charged with felony vandalism, according to the LAPD.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In November, a woman was caught and charged with a felony for vandalizing ancient petroglyphs near Moab.
—Outside, 27 Jan. 2026
Police have arrested a man accused of vandalizing a menorah built by a holocaust survivor outside a synagogue in Bridgeport last month.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2026
Max Saltman, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Two teenagers are behind bars for allegedly vandalizing a fence with antisemitic graffiti in Sterling Heights, police say.
—Alysia Burgio, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
The charges include felony counts of making criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon involving a motor vehicle on March 19, and vandalizing Buckingham’s Mercedes-Benz S450 the same day.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2026
Baumann testified that Evetts joined him in vandalizing the vehicles parked in the facility’s adjacent lot and breaking a surveillance camera.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
William Defoor, 26, was accused of breaking a window to enter Vance’s home and vandalizing a USSS vehicle, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press in January.
—Ryan Mancini, The Hill, 7 Feb. 2026
At least four suspects were detained for vandalizing property in the area and will be charged with felony vandalism, according to the LAPD.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In November, a woman was caught and charged with a felony for vandalizing ancient petroglyphs near Moab.
—Outside, 27 Jan. 2026
Police have arrested a man accused of vandalizing a menorah built by a holocaust survivor outside a synagogue in Bridgeport last month.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vandalizing
Verb
-
As Miles manages to lift up Lily and get her out of there, MPKs start hurling flash-bangs, destroying the Ed Baldwin shrine and shooting a couple of protesters in the process.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Ukrainian forces are systematically striking Russian oil refineries, pipelines, and storage facilities over 600 miles inside Russia, destroying tens of billions in infrastructure and disrupting Moscow’s war finances.—
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
No one in Florida had been charged with criminal mischief for defacing a traffic control device until the August arrests.—
Cristóbal Reyes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Apr. 2026
-
This exclusion protects the home warranty company from homeowners who may try to get replacements for appliances or home system components by defacing or damaging them purposefully.—
Dan Simms,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Those sweaters have so much mojo, as shown by Allen just demolishing what looked to be a Corona.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
-
And the city has further rules around demolishing older buildings, passed in late 2024.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But as anyone who’s dropped a mug knows, ceramics are also brittle and prone to smashing.—
Caitlin Kennedy,
Scientific American,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Police officers arrived at her Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles and learned that the attackers had left the woman inside after allegedly smashing her jaw and choking her.—
Francie Ebert,
NBC news,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Determining how the teen died took time, and after months of additional investigation, prosecutors announced charges against D4vd that allege her murder was a premeditated attempt to keep her from ruining his music career by exposing their underage relationship.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Additionally, wet windows can accumulate condensation overnight, potentially ruining your hard work.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Three Los Angeles County residents will spend their weekends in jail for dressing up as a bear and trashing luxury cars for insurance money.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Trump lavishly praised the justices who voted his way ― Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito ― while continually trashing the ones who didn't.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In their first public statement made outside the courtroom since Kohberger's arrest in December 2022, Kohberger's lawyers have accused a former defense expert, criminologist Brent Turvey, of violating a confidentiality agreement by speaking about the case.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Citizens for Positive Growth & Preservation since 2015 has filed three lawsuits against the city accusing Sacramento officials of violating CEQA.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Wind gusts reached up to 110 mph, damaging homes throughout the city as the storm moved northeast.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Days of severe storms to come The shift in the weather pattern that sparked Thursday night’s storms will keep the threat level elevated for damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes in the central US into early next week.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vandalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vandalizing. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
