TORE DOWN Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

tore down

verb

past tense of tear down

as in destroyed

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of vandals tore down the wooden fence blocking the entrance to the beach

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in demolished

to destroy (as a building) completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces the new owners apparently bought the house just to tear it down and build a lavish mansion in its place

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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 tore down In 2023, the Claramontes tore down the house, despite protests from civic leaders who sought to maintain the area’s heritage. — Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026 Department of Homeland Security contractors tore down the first of the three trees on July 27. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 30 July 2026 The French revolutionaries tore down almost all of society’s old structures—including the calendar, the churches, and the school system. — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026 Piepenbrink encouraged people to visit the Crete Township Community Center on Cottage Grove Avenue and Monee Road to view photos from a 1952 fire that tore down the Balmoral Park grandstand during renovations. — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026 The president's team also repaired fountains throughout the city, tore down the White House's East Wing to make way for a ballroom, attempted to close the Kennedy Center for renovations, and drew up plans for a gigantic triumphal arch across the river from the capital in Virginia. — Joe Walsh, CBS News, 19 June 2026 The properties sit across a cove from where Michael Jordan once tore down his own mansion (presumably to build a bigger one — as one does). — Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2026 Protesters tore down and disabled enforcement cameras and painted the policy as a civil liberties issue. — Justin Worland, Time, 3 June 2026 Clashes intensified this weekend as police with riot shields and officers on horseback pushed back demonstrators, some of whom tore down barricades, hurled objects and set tires ablaze outside the 1,000-bed facility. — Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tore down

Verb

The fire started in the 2300 block of Pickett Road and destroyed five structures, according to Cal Fire.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Almost 50 homes and other structures have been destroyed so far; there have been several injuries, and one of Tibbetts’s neighbors lost 20 German shepherds.

— Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of destroyed

Verb

Meanwhile, as cars replaced horses, streets had to be widened, and several of the city’s many inconvenient hills were flattened—some houses were demolished, but plenty were simply rolled out of the way.

— Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
His Administration demolished the White House’s East Wing to make way for a ballroom costing hundreds of millions of dollars—a project facing its own legal challenges.

— Chad de Guzman, Time, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of demolished

Verb

Three winemakers earlier this month filed suit against the owner of Hundred Acre Wines, Jayson Woodbridge, and his company alleging that smoke from the wildfire ruined their harvests, the Press Democrat reported.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Authorities in Napa County have charged a man for allegedly setting the 2025 Pickett Fire near Calistoga, which burned thousands of acres of Wine Country and ruined grape harvests because of the smoke.

— Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruined

Verb

Adolf Hitler's army has been shattered, but thousands of Nazi fanatics are prepared to engage in an epic last stand.

— Danielle Parker, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
The case against the Tates That image of impunity shattered on July 18, when US Marshals arrested the brothers outside a bare-knuckle boxing match in Miami on an extradition request from British authorities.

— Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of shattered

Verb

As more cars wrecked behind the incident, NASCAR was forced to throw the caution flag — freezing the field with Preece in front.

— Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026
But in a case of life imitating art, the show’s entire publicity strategy was inadvertently wrecked by a real-life aristocrat, after reports leaked that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was being eyed for a role in the series.

— K.J. Yossman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of wrecked

Verb

The flash flood which has devastated settlements in northern Nepal was caused by an earthquake triggering a large landslide which blocked the Bhote Koshi river, according to Nepal’s foreign minister Shishir Khanal.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
In season one, Alice (Nicola Walker) is devastated when her best friend Steve (Jemaine Clement) starts dating her 26-year-old daughter Izzy.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of devastated

Verb

Anne Shirley has smashed her slate over Gilbert Blythe’s head.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Archaeologists in Central Europe recently came across an unusual hoard of Bronze Age tools — including a sword that had been deliberately smashed with a powerful blow.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of smashed

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“Tore down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tore%20down. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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