van‧dal‧ize (
also vandalise British English) /ˈvænd
əl-aɪz/
verb [transitive] to damage or destroy things deliberately, especially public property:
The cemetery was vandalized during the night. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
damage to cause physical harm to something or someone, or have a bad effect on them:
Several buildings were damaged by the earthquake. The other car wasn’t damaged. The scandal could damage his career.harm to have a bad effect on something:
They use chemicals that will harm the environment. The oil crisis could harm the economy.spoil to have a bad effect on something and make it less successful, enjoyable, useful etc:
We didn’t let the rain spoil our holiday. Local people say the new buildings will spoil the view.vandalize to deliberately damage buildings, vehicles, or public property:
All the public telephones in the area had been vandalized.sabotage /ˈsæbətɑːʒ/ to secretly damage machines or equipment so that they cannot be used, especially in order to harm an enemy:
There is evidence that the airplane was sabotaged.tamper with something to deliberately and illegally damage or change a part of something in order to prevent it from working properly:
The car’s brakes had been tampered with.desecrate to damage a church or other holy place:
The church had been desecrated by vandals.deface /dɪˈfeɪs/ to deliberately spoil the appearance of something by writing on it, spraying paint on it etc:
Someone had defaced the statue and painted it bright orange. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲