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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.
Examples of vandalize in a Sentence
Alicia Dennis, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024
After the assault, the minibike riders vandalized the motorist’s vehicle while his ten-year-old child remained in the front seat.
—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 22 May 2024
Police also responded to reports of gunfire on the premises, and the building’s lower levels were repeatedly vandalized.
—Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2024
In November 2017, a plaque commemorating the late Dallas Cowboys football player Frank Cornish IV, whose family lived across the street from my childhood home, was vandalized.
—Stephanie Drenka, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2024
Fact check: Video shows rally in Norway, not response to Columbia University protest
The photo was taken in November 2018 by the Columbia Spectator, which reported a Jewish professor’s office was vandalized with swastikas and an antisemitic slur.
—Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY, 13 May 2024
In April 2023, a Royal Oak synagogue, The Woodward Avenue Shul, was vandalized and in December 2022, a man drove to Temple Beth El, a Bloomfield Township synagogue, yelling antisemitic remarks at parents and children.
—Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 9 May 2024
Veterans groups were infuriated and saddened after anti-Israel agitators vandalized a World War I monument in New York City this week, prompting city officials to voice scathing criticism of the demonstrators while noting the irony of their right to protest.
—Louis Casiano, Fox News, 8 May 2024
Sometimes people vandalize the water stations, Astroth said.
—Ally Schweitzer, NPR, 6 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vandalize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near vandalize
Cite this Entry
“Vandalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vandalize. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vandalize
verb
Legal Definition
vandalize
transitive verb
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