raze
UK: reɪz | US: reɪz
vt. to completely destroy a building, town, or other structure
vt. to erase or obliterate something as if by tearing it down
The word raze traces back to the Latin radere ("to scrape"), reflecting the physical act of scraping or shaving something away. Over time, it evolved in Old French (raser) to mean "to level or flatten," and by the 16th century, English adopted it with the intensified sense of "utter destruction." The logic follows the imagery of scraping a surface clean—extended metaphorically to towns or buildings being "scraped" off the land.
The city decided to raze the abandoned factory to make space for a park.
Historical records were razed during the invasion, leaving no trace of the past.
The hurricane's force was enough to raze entire neighborhoods.
Developers plan to raze the old mall and build a modern complex.
War can raze centuries of culture in mere days.