demolish
verb
Simple meaning
Ruin or destroy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihmahlishSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪˈmɑlɪʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
literally
To destroy (buildings, etc.), especially in a planned or intentional fashion.
literally
Destroy completely
“The wrecking ball demolished the building.”
literally
Ruin or destroy
“His book demolishes an old myth.”
figuratively
To defeat, refute, discredit, or consume utterly (as a theory, belief or opponent).
To devour; to eat up
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (literally) To destroy (buildings, etc.), especially in a planned or intentional fashion.
Used this way, demolish is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Destroyverb
“The wrecking ball demolished the building.”
Ruinverb
“His book demolishes an old myth.”
More ways to use demolish
- “The home team demolished the visitors.”verb
- “The wrecking ball demolished the building.”verb
- “His book demolishes an old myth.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- rebuildverb
- erectverb
- demolitionnoun
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “demolish” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.