Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives



Feb 5, 2021
This week’s theme
Eponyms

This week’s words
faustian
turveydropian
gallionic
dunce
vandalize

vandalize
Screenshot of the video from ITV
Image: ITV

This week’s comments
AWADmail 971

Next week’s theme
There’s a word for it
Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

vandalize

PRONUNCIATION:
(VAN-duh-lyz)

MEANING:
verb tr.: To willfully damage another’s property.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Vandals, a Germanic tribe who overran Gaul, Spain, and northern Africa, and in 455 CE sacked Rome. Earliest documented use: 1800.

USAGE:
“Mobs of Trump supporters, hopped up on Trump’s conspiracy theory of a stolen election and encouraged to go to the Capitol by the President himself, stormed and vandalized our nation’s Capitol building. ...
“[Mitch] McConnell himself stood by while the seeds of extremism were planted, leading to -- in his words -- ‘the unhinged crowd’, or, in other words, the domestic terrorists who came for him and his fellow legislators.”
Daniel Lubetzky; There’s Only One Way to Stop Violent Extremists; CNN; Jan 12, 2021.

See more usage examples of vandalize in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is difficult to picture the great Creator conceiving of a program of one creature (which He has made) using another living creature for purposes of experimentation. There must be other, less cruel ways of obtaining knowledge. -Adlai Stevenson II, lawyer, politician, and diplomat (5 Feb 1900-1965)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith