vandalism
n.the act of damaging or destroying property on purpose. You use this word when someone breaks a window or sprays paint on a wall that isn't theirs.
n.the deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. Often used in legal or sociological contexts to describe non-consensual physical alteration of an environment.
“The park was closed after a night of vandalism.”
“Local authorities are installing more security cameras to prevent vandalism in the city's historic district.”
“While some view street art as a form of cultural expression, the law typically treats any unauthorised painting on public infrastructure as a punishable act of vandalism.”
Uncountable in its general sense; specific acts are usually referred to as 'acts of vandalism' rather than 'vandalisms'.
“The prime minister, Andy Burnham, also faces a revolt from Labour MPs who oppose the plans, while the former energy secretary Ed Miliband once called the Rosebank proposal “climate vandalism”.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.