Demolish — De*mol ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Demolished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Demolishing}.] [F. d[ e]molir, fr. L. demoliri, p. p. demolitus; de + moliri to set a thing in motion, to work, construct, from moles a huge mass or structure. See {Mole} a mound, and … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
demolish — index consume, damage, defeat, destroy (efface), devastate, eliminate (eradicate), eradicate … Law dictionary
demolish — 1560s, from M.Fr. demoliss , prp. stem of démolir to destroy, tear down (late 14c.), from L. demoliri tear down, from de down (see DE (Cf. de )) + moliri build, construct, from moles (gen. molis) massive structure (see … Etymology dictionary
demolish — *destroy, raze Analogous words: wreck, *ruin, dilapidate: devastate, *ravage, waste, sack Antonyms: construct … New Dictionary of Synonyms
demolish — [v] destroy; consume annihilate, break, bulldoze, burst, crack, crush, decimate, defeat, devastate, devour, dilapidate, dismantle, eat, flatten, gobble up, knock down, level, obliterate, overthrow, overturn, pulverize, put away, put in toilet*,… … New thesaurus
demolish — ► VERB 1) pull or knock down (a building). 2) comprehensively refute or defeat. 3) humorous eat up (food) quickly. ORIGIN Latin demoliri, from moliri construct … English terms dictionary
demolish — [di mäl′ish] vt. [< extended stem of Fr démolir < L demoliri, to pull down, destroy < de , down + moliri, to build, construct < moles, a mass: see MOLE3] 1. to pull down, tear down, or smash to pieces (a building, etc.) 2. to destroy; … English World dictionary
demolish — [[t]dɪmɒ̱lɪʃ[/t]] demolishes, demolishing, demolished 1) VERB To demolish something such as a building means to destroy it completely. [V n] A storm moved directly over the island, demolishing buildings and flooding streets... [V n] The building… … English dictionary
demolish — [16] To demolish something is etymologically to ‘deconstruct’ it. The word comes from demoliss , the stem of Old French demolir, which in turn came from Latin dēmōlīrī ‘throw down, demolish’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē ,… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
demolish — [16] To demolish something is etymologically to ‘deconstruct’ it. The word comes from demoliss , the stem of Old French demolir, which in turn came from Latin dēmōlīrī ‘throw down, demolish’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē ,… … Word origins
