raze
Definitions
To destroy a building or settlement completely, leaving nothing standing
夷为平地，彻底拆毁
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom the Latin past participle rāsus (scraped). Raze is the scraping action taken to its extreme: not just wearing down a surface, but scraping an entire building flat to the ground.
Root rad-scrape still carries 5 more wordsUsage Guide
- raze is a homophone of raise but means the opposite: raze tears down, raise lifts up. Context (and "to the ground") tells them apart.
- It's nearly always passive and paired with "to the ground": be razed to the ground.
- Formal/journalistic register — used for buildings, towns, and cities, not small objects.
Example Sentences
- 1.
The old factory was razed to the ground to make way for flats.
- 2.
Invading armies razed the city and left it in ruins.
- 3.
Several historic buildings were razed during the redevelopment.
Easily Confused
raze vs raise — identical in sound, opposite in meaning. Raze = demolish to the ground (raze the building). Raise = lift up or build up (raise a flag, raise a child). If something is being destroyed, it's raze with a z.
Synonym Comparison
- raze — scrape a structure flat to the ground; total
- demolish — knock down a building deliberately
- destroy — broadest; ruin anything by any means
- flatten — informal, knock down level
- level — reduce to a flat, even surface, like raze