Meanings
plural vandalisms
- countableuncountableWillful damage to or destruction of any property, such as graffiti or defacement.
As we turned down the street I was appalled by the vandalism: spray paint and smashed windows that were everywhere.
2 more examples
Bradford once boasted two stations with overall roofs. The pair were swept away in the 1970s in an act of corporate and civic vandalism.
2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 57President Donald Trump seemed to issue a warning to individuals who participate in Tesla vandalisms, as reports of destruction to vehicles, dealerships and charging stations surge across the country. […] When asked about his comments at the White House on Friday afternoon, Trump called the vandalism suspects "terrorists" and appeared to argue what was happening with Tesla vehicles was worse than what happened during the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
2025 March 22, Megan Forrester, “Trump suggests Tesla vandals should be sent to prison in El Salvador”, in ABC NewsSynonyms: vandalization
Synonyms & antonyms
nounWillful damage to or destruction of any property, such as graffiti or defacement.
More synonyms by meaning
nounwillful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchvandalisme
- Englishvandalism
Borrowed from French vandalisme, first used by Henri Grégoire to decry the pillage and destruction of art in the course of the French Revolution, in reference to the East Germanic tribe of the Vandals, which looted Rome in 455. By surface analysis, vandal + -ism.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَخْرِيب
- تَخْرِيب (taḵrīb)needless damage or destruction of property
Bulgarian вандали́зъм
- вандали́зъм (vandalízăm)needless damage or destruction of property
Catalan vandalisme
- vandalismeneedless damage or destruction of property
Chinese Mandarin 蓄意破壞 /蓄意破坏
- 蓄意破壞 /蓄意破坏 (xùyì pòhuài)needless damage or destruction of property
Czech vandalismus, vandalství
- vandalismusneedless damage or destruction of property
- vandalstvíneedless damage or destruction of property
Danish vandalisme, hærværk
- vandalismeneedless damage or destruction of property
- hærværkneedless damage or destruction of property
Dutch vandalisme
- vandalismeneedless damage or destruction of property
Esperanto vandalismo
- vandalismoneedless damage or destruction of property
Estonian vandalism
- vandalismneedless damage or destruction of property
Finnish vandalismi, ilkivalta
- vandalismineedless damage or destruction of property
- ilkivaltaneedless damage or destruction of property
French vandalisme
- vandalismeneedless damage or destruction of property
German Vandalismus
- Vandalismusneedless damage or destruction of property
Greek βανδαλισμός
- βανδαλισμός (vandalismós)needless damage or destruction of property
Hebrew ונדליזם
- ונדליזםneedless damage or destruction of property
Hungarian vandalizmus
- vandalizmusneedless damage or destruction of property
Icelandic skemmdarverk, spjöll
- skemmdarverkneedless damage or destruction of property
- spjöllneedless damage or destruction of property
Indonesian perusakan, sifat suka merusak
- perusakanneedless damage or destruction of property
- sifat suka merusakneedless damage or destruction of property
Irish loitiméireacht
- loitiméireachtneedless damage or destruction of property
Italian vandalismo
- vandalismoneedless damage or destruction of property
Japanese 荒らし, ヴァンダリズム
- 荒らし (arashi)needless damage or destruction of property
- ヴァンダリズム (vandarizumu)needless damage or destruction of property
Korean 반달리즘
- 반달리즘 (bandallijeum)needless damage or destruction of property
Latin corruptiō, ruptiō
- corruptiōneedless damage or destruction of property
- ruptiōneedless damage or destruction of property
- vandalismusneedless damage or destruction of property
Malay vandalisme
- vandalismeneedless damage or destruction of property
Norwegian Bokmål hærverk, vandalisme
- hærverkneedless damage or destruction of property
- vandalismeneedless damage or destruction of property
Polish wandalizm
- wandalizmneedless damage or destruction of property
Portuguese vandalismo
- vandalismoneedless damage or destruction of property
Romanian vandalism
- vandalismneedless damage or destruction of property
Russian вандали́зм
- вандали́зм (vandalízm)needless damage or destruction of property
Spanish vandalismo, gamberrada
- vandalismoneedless damage or destruction of property
- gamberradaneedless damage or destruction of property
Swedish vandalism
- vandalismneedless damage or destruction of property
Tagalog bandalismo, pambababoy
- bandalismoneedless damage or destruction of property
- pambababoyneedless damage or destruction of property
Turkish vandalizm
- vandalizmneedless damage or destruction of property
Ukrainian вандалі́зм
- вандалі́зм (vandalízm)needless damage or destruction of property
Vietnamese phá hoại
- phá hoạineedless damage or destruction of property
Welsh fandaliaeth
- fandaliaethneedless damage or destruction of property
Cite this entry
vandalism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vandalism
“vandalism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vandalism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vandalism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vandalism.
Source: vandalism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.