vandalism

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

hooliganism, malicious mischief

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