Demolish

Demolish
Demolish De*mol"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Demolished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Demolishing}.] [F. d['e]molir, fr. L. demoliri, p. p. demolitus; de- + moliri to set a thing in motion, to work, construct, from moles a huge mass or structure. See {Mole} a mound, and {Finish}.] To throw or pull down; to raze; to destroy the fabric of; to pull to pieces; to ruin; as, to demolish an edifice, or a wall. [1913 Webster]

I expected the fabric of my book would long since have been demolished, and laid even with the ground. --Tillotson.

Syn: To {Demolish}, {Overturn}, {Destroy}, {Dismantle}, {Raze}. That is overturned or overthrown which had stood upright; that is destroyed whose component parts are scattered; that is demolished which had formed a mass or structure; that is dismantled which is stripped of its covering, as a vessel of its sails, or a fortress of its bastions, etc.; that is razed which is brought down smooth, and level to the ground. An ancient pillar is overturned or overthrown as the result of decay; a city is destroyed by an invasion of its enemies; a monument, the walls of a castle, a church, or any structure, real or imaginary, may be demolished; a fortress may be dismantled from motives of prudence, in order to render it defenseless; a city may be razed by way of punishment, and its ruins become a memorial of vengeance. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • demolish — index consume, damage, defeat, destroy (efface), devastate, eliminate (eradicate), eradicate …   Law dictionary

  • demolish — 1560s, from M.Fr. demoliss , prp. stem of démolir to destroy, tear down (late 14c.), from L. demoliri tear down, from de down (see DE (Cf. de )) + moliri build, construct, from moles (gen. molis) massive structure (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • demolish — *destroy, raze Analogous words: wreck, *ruin, dilapidate: devastate, *ravage, waste, sack Antonyms: construct …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • demolish — [v] destroy; consume annihilate, break, bulldoze, burst, crack, crush, decimate, defeat, devastate, devour, dilapidate, dismantle, eat, flatten, gobble up, knock down, level, obliterate, overthrow, overturn, pulverize, put away, put in toilet*,… …   New thesaurus

  • demolish — ► VERB 1) pull or knock down (a building). 2) comprehensively refute or defeat. 3) humorous eat up (food) quickly. ORIGIN Latin demoliri, from moliri construct …   English terms dictionary

  • demolish — [di mäl′ish] vt. [< extended stem of Fr démolir < L demoliri, to pull down, destroy < de , down + moliri, to build, construct < moles, a mass: see MOLE3] 1. to pull down, tear down, or smash to pieces (a building, etc.) 2. to destroy; …   English World dictionary

  • demolish — [[t]dɪmɒ̱lɪʃ[/t]] demolishes, demolishing, demolished 1) VERB To demolish something such as a building means to destroy it completely. [V n] A storm moved directly over the island, demolishing buildings and flooding streets... [V n] The building… …   English dictionary

  • demolish — [16] To demolish something is etymologically to ‘deconstruct’ it. The word comes from demoliss , the stem of Old French demolir, which in turn came from Latin dēmōlīrī ‘throw down, demolish’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē ,… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • demolish */ — UK [dɪˈmɒlɪʃ] / US [dɪˈmɑlɪʃ] verb [transitive] Word forms demolish : present tense I/you/we/they demolish he/she/it demolishes present participle demolishing past tense demolished past participle demolished 1) a) to deliberately destroy a… …   English dictionary

  • demolish — [16] To demolish something is etymologically to ‘deconstruct’ it. The word comes from demoliss , the stem of Old French demolir, which in turn came from Latin dēmōlīrī ‘throw down, demolish’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē ,… …   Word origins

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