FreeScrabbleDictionary

vandal

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
10
Words With Friends
13
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈvændəl/

Definition of vandal

4 senses · 3 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.
    “Vandals spray-painted obscenities on the side of the building.”
    “The anonymous vandal was blocked after going on a vandalism spree.”
See all 4 definitions

noun

  1. A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.
    “Vandals spray-painted obscenities on the side of the building.”
    “The anonymous vandal was blocked after going on a vandalism spree.”
  2. (historical)A member of an ancient east Germanic tribe famous for sacking Rome.

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Of or relating to the Vandals.

name

  1. An extinct East Germanic language ascribed to have been spoken by the Vandals.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a…

See full etymology

1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders of ancient times, but they did inspire English poet John Dryden to write, Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694). However, the Vandals did intentionally damage statues, which may be why their name is associated with the vandalism of art. The coining of French Vandalisme by Henri Grégoire in 1794 to describe the destruction of artwork following the French Revolution popularized the idea further, and the term was quickly adopted across Europe, including as English vandalism.

Words you can make from vandal

27 playable · top: VANDA (9 pts)

Best play vanda 9 points

5-letter words

2 words

4-letter words

6 words

3-letter words

11 words

2-letter words

7 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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