VANDALISM Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

vandalism

noun

ˈvan-də-ˌli-zəm

Definition of vandalism

as in vandalization

deliberate damaging or destroying of another's property anyone guilty of vandalism to university property will be expelled

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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 vandalism The power loss, a culmination of lightning strikes at various substations and a failure to control power output, led to widespread looting and vandalism amid social and economic unrest. — USA Today, 29 June 2026 The saga — full of botched timelines, unverified vandalism claims and now toxicity concerns — has become an unlikely metaphor for the administration’s broader instinct to paper over problems rather than fix them. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 July 2026 The increase would have brought the average annual bill to $117, generating an additional $80 million a year as the city faces a backlog of broken streetlights due to stagnant funding and a rise in vandalism and theft. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026 According to the Folsom Police Department, officers impounded the e-moto because its rider — a juvenile — was the subject of an ongoing investigation into the June 23 vandalism of a car windshield at Palladio. — Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for vandalism

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vandalism

Noun

Riverside has both a community center named for Chavez and a bronze statue — often the target of vandalization — on the Main Street pedestrian mall in the city’s downtown.

— Ryan Carter, Daily News, 19 Mar. 2026
Police said officers from the 116th Precinct had been alerted to the vandalization in the neighborhood and found 11 different police vehicles, both marked and unmarked, with damage.

— Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 13 Nov. 2025

Definition of vandalization

Noun

Rodríguez said authorities have recorded 862 aftershocks since the main quakes and confirmed that 189 buildings collapsed completely nationwide, the vast majority in La Guaira, the coastal state that suffered the worst destruction.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
Our previous card featured the fiery destruction of the Missouri Pacific depot in 1909.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 July 2026

Definition of destruction

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vandal

vandalism

vandalization

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“Vandalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vandalism. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of vandalism

noun

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