vandalize

verb

van·​dal·​ize ˈvan-də-ˌlīz 

vandalized; vandalizing

transitive verb

: to subject to vandalism : damage

vandalization

ˌvan-də-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Did you know?

At one point in Frodo’s journey in The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien depicts an ancient statue overlooking a crossroads: “Its head was gone, and in its place was set in mockery a round rough-hewn stone, rudely painted … in the likeness of a grinning face with one large red eye in the midst of its forehead.” The statue had been vandalized by orcs, but the roots of vandalize have more in common with the name of a Tolkien hero. Vandalize comes from the noun vandal, which was originally capitalized and referred to a member of a Germanic people who lived south of the Baltic Sea and sacked Rome in the year 455 CE. This sacking is what likely led to the use of the lower-case vandal for someone who damages or destroys property. The Late Latin word for such a Vandal was Vandalī, a word probably borrowed from a Germanic verb meaning “wend, turn” that also gave rise to the Old English Ēarendel, the name of a mythological figure that inspired Tolkien’s creation of Eärendil, a mariner who wends his way across the sky of Middle Earth carrying the morning star.

Synonyms

• deface
• trash

Examples of vandalize in a Sentence

Our car was vandalized in the parking lot.

he decided to vandalize the store because the owner had kicked him out

Recent Examples on the Web

The University of Michigan on Monday denounced an attack on the home of Jordan Acker, a university regent, in which his house was vandalized and pro-Palestinian messages were spray-painted on his wife’s car. —Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 9 Dec. 2024

After the grave was vandalized, Shrewsbury resident Louise Coupland launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise £1,000 for the costs of repairing the stone. —Olatunji Osho-Williams, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024

Dutch police arrested three people on Tuesday after a police vehicle in Amsterdam was set on fire and a city bus was vandalized, days after tensions between Israeli soccer fans and the city's Arab population exploded into violent clashes and hit-and-run attacks targeting Israelis. —Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2024

Police said the clashes began on Wednesday, the evening before the game, when Maccabi supporters tore down and burned a Palestinian flag and vandalized a taxi. —Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

vandal + -ize

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

vandalize

verb

van·​dal·​ize ˈvan-dᵊl-ˌīz 

vandalized; vandalizing

: to destroy or damage property on purpose

Legal Definition

vandalize

transitive verb

van·​dal·​ize ˈvand-ᵊl-ˌīz 

vandalized; vandalizing

: to subject to vandalism