torn down

verb

past participle of tear down
1
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 torn down Statues are torn down, buildings with people's names on them erode. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026 Cooley High School, a landmark on Detroit's west side for nearly a century, is being torn down after years of vacancy left the historic building too deteriorated to save. — Elaine Rojas-Castillo, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 Their wait spanned three years while their old houses were torn down and rebuilt. — Kamala Thiagarajan, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026 Older homes are being torn down, replaced by sleek new constructions, and private security forces can be spotted along residential streets, parked in front of gates and hedges. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 30 July 2026 When Congress refused to fund its completion in time for the 1876 Centennial, there were even demands that the eyesore be torn down. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 27 July 2026 The original venue was torn down a few years after the Yes/Frampton show, and replaced with a much smaller stadium that seats just 3,000 people. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 18 July 2026 In his follow up email on Wednesday, Harper said engineers had concluded the bridge should be torn down. — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 16 July 2026 Especially as more and more of Charlotte’s historic buildings are being torn down. — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 13 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torn down
  1. destroyed
  2. demolished
  3. ruined
  4. pulled down
  5. smashed
  6. wrecked
  7. shattered
  8. devastated
Verb
  • Most of the hospitals are taken over by gangs or have been destroyed, and … the economy’s not good.
    — Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Two grandparents and their 3-year-old grandson were killed after multiple Russian drones destroyed their home in the Brovary district of Kyiv region, northeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early Saturday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Verb
  • In Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, a Russian glide bomb demolished six floors of a 10-story apartment block, killing one person and wounding 16 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The facade will join a growing list of other historic sites that have been steadily demolished around Charlotte over the decades.
    — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of demolished
Verb
  • Atlassian is up over 30% this morning after the collaboration software maker, thought to be ruined by AI, reported a great quarter.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
  • With baseball ruined, the Dodgers will look to avoid their second consecutive series loss via the sweep on Wednesday, sending superstar starter Eric Lauer to the mound against Shota Imanaga.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruined
Verb
  • Frustrated, Rhodes pulled down Punk’s kneepad and continued to target the injured knee.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • That trend continued Friday, as Allen pulled down a one-handed snag from quarterback Patrick Mahomes during 11-on-11s that served as the day’s top highlight.
    — Jesse Newell, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of pulled down
Verb
  • When Rigo arrived and asked about the minivan, he was shown a video of the crime scene being picked up and smashed to pieces.
    — Lauren Clark, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • At a red light, one officer rushed out of the patrol car, smashed the driver’s-side window and pulled the driver to the ground.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of smashed
Verb
  • Resilience wrecked, but Blue Ghost aced its touchdown, becoming the first private spacecraft to do so.
    — Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026
  • This group of men did stuff that hurt others to often terrible degrees but also wrecked themselves and their careers.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrecked
Verb
  • More than 180 bullets pierced, cracked or shattered windows in six buildings on campus.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The group shattered windows, stole or attempted to steal cash, register drawers and safes.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of shattered
Verb
  • Melissa Fresses, Maribel's sister, said she was devastated by the news.
    — Laura Fay, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Anny Liu of Altadena was introduced to Jackie and Shadow in January 2025 — the month the Palisades and Eaton fires devastated swaths of Los Angeles County.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastated

Browse Nearby Words

tornadoes
torn down
torn into
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Torn down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torn%20down. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All