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It is not only important, but, in a degree necessary, that the people of this country, should have an American Dictionary of the English language; for, although the body of the language is the same as in England, and it is desirable to perpetuate that sameness, yet some differences must exist. Language is the expression of ideas; and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas, they cannot retain an identity of language. |
DEMOLISH, v.t. [L. To build.] To throw or pull down; to raze; to destroy, as a heap or structure; to separate any collected mass, or the connected parts of a thing; to ruin; as, to demolish an edifice, or a mound; to demolish a wall or fortification.
To throw or pull down; to raze; to destroy the fabric of; to
pull to pieces; to ruin; as, to demolish an edifice, or a
wall.
I expected the fabric of my book would long since have been demolished, and laid even with the ground. Tillotson. Syn. -- To Demolish, Overturn, Destroy, Dismantle, Raze. That is overturned or overthrown which had stood upright; that is destroyed whose component parts are scattered; that is demolished which had formed a mass or structure; that is dismantled which is stripped of its covering, as a vessel of its sails, or a fortress of its bastions, etc.; that is razed which is brought down smooth, and level to the ground. An ancient pillar is overturned or overthrown as the result of decay; a city is destroyed by an invasion of its enemies; a monument, the walls of a castle, a church, or any structure, real or imaginary, may be demolished; a fortress may be dismantled from motives of prudence, in order to render it defenseless; a city may be razed by way of punishment, and its ruins become a memorial of vengeance. | ||||||||