vandalism
Other forms: vandalisms
Vandalism is the destruction of someone else's property. Some people think of graffiti as public art, while others dismiss it as nothing but vandalism.
If you damage public or private property on purpose, you've committed the crime of vandalism. The range of vandalism can vary from carving your initials in a desk at school to tearing pages out of a library book to breaking windows of a building. The word vandal comes from the Vandals, the Germanic tribe that attacked Rome in 455. The tribe's name meant "wanderer," but the word vandal was used in the 1600s to mean "destroyer of what is beautiful."
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willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others
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synonyms:
hooliganism, malicious mischief
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type of:
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destruction, devastation
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
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devilment, devilry, deviltry, mischief, mischief-making, mischievousness, rascality, roguery, roguishness, shenanigan
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
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destruction, devastation
/ˌvændlˈɪzəm/
/ˈvændəlɪzəm/
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Copy citationVocabulary lists containing vandalism
Eighth-grader Molly is fed up with her school's unfair dress code policy, so she starts a podcast to protest it, sparking a rebellion.
Fred is your average, lovable dog who looks like his favorite hero, Duke, on the crime-fighting hit show Dog Squad. When Duke needs a stand-in, Fred fills in for him and discovers that Dog Squad action doesn't always stop on the screen.
Seventh graders Link, Michael, and Dana start a project to bring people together and figure out who's responsible for a string of recent antisemitic hate crimes in their small town.
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