Vocabulary in context
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Raze
To destroy completely; to demolish or level to the ground.
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Imagine This
Imagine a crumbling old theater in a town square. Bulldozers roll in, their blades gnashing through brick and timber until the structure is razed, leaving a flat, empty lot.
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Sounds Like
reΙͺz
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Looks Like
Looks like 'raise' (same pronunciation).
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Remember This
Raze and raise are commonly confused; raze means destroy, raise means lift or build up. Both are pronounced the same.
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Other Forms
razedadjective
razedverb
razingnoun
razingverb
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Connect With
demolish, destroy, flatten, level, pull down; common confusion with raise
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Note
Use raze when you mean destruction. The noun form is the razing of something; you can say 'to raze a building' or 'the razing of the building.'
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Study Deeper
Examples
- The city council voted to raze the old factory to make way for a park.
- During the war, many villages were razed to the ground.
Synonyms
demolishdestroylevelflattenpull down
Antonyms
buildconstructerect
Etymology
From Old French razer 'to shave, erase; to destroy' from Vulgar Latin roots related to rasus 'shaved' and radere 'to scrape'. The sense is 'to scrape down to the ground'.
Mnemonic
Raze sounds like raise but means destroy. Imagine a giant razor shaving a building down to the ground.
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Impede
verbTo block; to obstruct
Hierarchy
nounA system in which people or things are arranged according to rank or authority; a graded order of importance or power.
Prevail
verbTo be more powerful or successful than opposing forces; to win or triumph; also to persuade someone to do something (as in prevail upon).
Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Abandon
verbTo give up completely, to desert or leave behind, or to relinquish a claim, plan, or responsibility.
Abate
verbTo decrease in amount or intensity; to reduce or end something.
Abolish
verbTo formally end or repeal a system, practice, or institution; to officially put an end to something established.
Abridge
verbTo shorten (a text, speech, or other work) by omitting parts; to condense.
Abscond
verbTo depart secretly or flee, especially to avoid detection or arrest.
Absolve
verbTo free someone from blame or responsibility; to pardon or exonerate.
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