as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
a lightning strike vaporized the tree
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Recent Examples of vaporize
Then, the detective hired to vaporize the homicidal mountain lion discovers the animal is getting a bum rap — the businessman had been murdered before the mauling began.
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Chris Hewitt, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Many of the space station's modules and hardware are expected to burn up, melt away or vaporize upon re-entry.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
The findings are notable because the nickel gas surrounding 3I/ATLAS was detected at a huge distance from the sun (nearly four times Earth's distance from the sun) where temperatures are too cold for metals to normally vaporize, Rahatgaonkar told NPR in an interview.
—NPR, 30 Oct. 2025
As the comet draws closer to the Sun, its frozen gases begin to vaporize, releasing dust and ice into space—a process that gradually causes the comet to lose mass.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vaporize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vaporize
Verb
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So, automation can be used to destroy labor or workers’ power, but it can also be used in the opposite direction.—
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Homes, businesses and synagogues were destroyed.—
Verb
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It is designed to mirror the East Wing addition after the previous building was demolished last year.—
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In order to do so, the city has to acquire the land and purchase the properties — valued at $22 million total — and demolish them, causing several businesses to close or relocate to make way for the project.—
Verb
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And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.—
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This will either change your life or ruin you.—
Verb
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The Creature is slowed, however, when gunfire shatters the ice around its feet, plunging it into the cold sea.—
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Troconis’ case for being a cooperating witness was shattered when Dulos died after attempting to commit suicide in January 2020, Bowman testified.—
Verb
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Group members want to see Bonta’s office take ownership of a review, as occurred in Hawaii after Maui’s devastating Lahaina fire.—
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The regime’s regional proxies have been devastated.—
Verb
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Guardiola’s lads look back to their best in the early months of this season after the extended wobble in the previous one that wrecked their hopes of a fifth straight domestic title.—
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Phillips croons about a mother’s bond with her child as Swinton walks off, her character freshly wrecked by a visit with her son in prison.—
Verb
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The conservative impulse — skepticism of sweeping change, respect for traditions, wariness of unintended consequences — can prevent politics from becoming a moral joyride that smashes against the guardrails and calls it courage.—
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As Hodges stood there, scared and vulnerable, the man grabbed his baton and bashed him on the head with it, rupturing his lip and smashing his skull.—
Cite this Entry
“Vaporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vaporize. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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