Meaning & use
demolished
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“demolished” is a form of “demolish”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
past tense of demolish: destroyed a building or structure completely
Grammar: Takes an object: demolished the old house. Often used in the passive: the house was demolished.
Patterns
- demolished a building
- be demolished
- demolished by someone
They demolished the old factory to make room for apartments.
The bridge was demolished after the flood damaged it beyond repair.
Workers demolished the unsafe wall in just one day.
verbtransitiveinformal
past tense of demolish: defeated an opponent completely and easily
Grammar: Takes an object: demolished the other team. Common in sports reports and informal contexts.
Patterns
- demolished the opponent
- demolished the other team
The home team demolished their rivals 5–0.
She demolished her opponent in straight sets.
verbtransitiveformal
past tense of demolish: proved that an argument or idea was completely wrong
Grammar: Takes an object: demolished the argument. Often used in academic or formal writing.
Patterns
- demolished an argument
- demolished a theory
The lawyer demolished the witness's story with new evidence.
His article demolished the myth that the policy would help the poor.
Word forms
| base form | demolish |
|---|---|
| third person singular | demolishes |
| past tense | demolished |
| past participle | demolished |
| -ing form | demolishing |
Common combinations
- demolished a building
- The council demolished the old library to build a parking lot.
- was demolished
- The historic hotel was demolished last year despite protests.
- demolished the argument
- The professor demolished the argument in a single paragraph.
- demolished the opposition
- The champion demolished the opposition in the final.
Synonyms and how they differ
- destroyed
- Destroyed is a general word for damaging something so badly that it no longer exists or works; demolished is used mainly for buildings and structures that are pulled down.
- knocked down
- Knocked down is more informal and often used for walls or trees; demolished sounds more deliberate and official, as in planned destruction.
- flattened
- Flattened emphasizes making something level with the ground; demolished emphasizes the act of pulling a structure apart.
Opposites
Word family
- demolition noun
- The act of destroying a building or structure.
- demolisher noun
- A person or machine that demolishes buildings.
- demolish verb
- The base form meaning to destroy a building or defeat someone easily.
Commonly confused: demolished or demolition?
demolished vs demolition
Demolition is the noun (the demolition of the old school); demolished is the verb form (they demolished the old school).
Practice
The old cinema ______ last year to make way for a shopping center.
Choose one answer.
The cinema cannot demolish itself, so the passive 'was demolished' is correct. 'Demolished' alone needs a subject that does the action. 'Demolishes' is present tense and does not fit 'last year'. 'Is demolishing' suggests the cinema is doing the action now.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “demolished”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.