demolish : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: demolish	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for demolish
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
demolish v destroy completely; "the wrecking ball demolished the building"; "demolish your enemies"; "pulverize the rebellion before it gets out of hand" Synonym(s): demolish, pulverize, pulverise humiliate or depress completely; "She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation"; "The death of her son smashed her" Synonym(s): crush, smash, demolish defeat soundly; "The home team demolished the visitors" Synonym(s): demolish, destroy
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Demolish \Demol"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Demolished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Demolishing}.] [F. d[82]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 {Finish}.] To throw or pull down; to raze; to destroy the fabric of; to pull to pieces; to ruin; as, to demolish* an edifice, or a wall. I expected the fabric of my book would long since have been demolished, and laid even with the ground. --Tillotson. Syn: To {Demolish}, {Overturn}, {Destroy}, {Dismantle}, {Raze}. That is overturned or overthrown which had stood upright; that is destroyed whose component parts are scattered; that is demolished which had formed a mass or structure; that is dismantled which is stripped of its covering, as a vessel of its sails, or a fortress of its bastions, etc.; that is razed which is brought down smooth, and level to the ground. An ancient pillar is overturned or overthrown as the result of decay; a city is destroyed by an invasion of its enemies; a monument, the walls of a castle, a church, or any structure, real or imaginary, may be demolished; a fortress may be dismantled from motives of prudence, in order to render it defenseless; a city may be razed by way of punishment, and its ruins become a memorial of vengeance.